


Battle City

by LunaNomea



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh!
Genre: F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-11-01
Updated: 2015-03-02
Packaged: 2017-12-31 05:07:08
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 39,704
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1027582
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LunaNomea/pseuds/LunaNomea
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kari likes Yugi, Yugi likes Kari. During the Battle City Finals, will they be able to maintain a friendship? Or will Kari's secret relationship allow it? Will Seto Kaiba realize that there is more to this competition than just obtaining the God Cards? And will Marik accomplish what he is set out to do? (Hints at Puzzleshipping)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Reckless Climbing

Yugi Muto said goodnight to his friends before returning to his own room for the night. Sleeping on the blimp was actually quite relaxing. The fact that you were hundreds of miles up in the air was scarcely on your mind unless you look outside the window. Which Yugi refused to do. Turning the door knob of his room, he heard a thud, stopping him abruptly with alarm. Who was inside? All of his friends he had seen leave for their own room, so an unknown person in his room was not a good thing.

Plunging up the courage he usually used for duels, or high panic situations, Yugi slowly opened the door and peered around into the dark room. He squinted, not seeing a thing.

Another thud had him jumping, startled, and he quickly flicked on the light to reveal a small blond struggling to climb through his window. Recognizing the girl immediately, Yugi gasped.

"Kari!" Yugi ran over to her in panic. "What are you doing?!"

Kari flashed him a wide grin, making him blush regardless. "Coming to see you!" she chirped, despite hanging off of a blimp in the middle of the atmosphere. If Yugi was to say anyone was brave, it was her. And he would have admired that if it wasn't for the fact that she seemed to be stuck on something, preventing her to come forth into his room.

"Couldn't you have used the door?" he asked, voice high and eyes wide as saucers.

Kari grunted, trying to wiggle her foot free. "Seto doesn't need to know I am talking to you," she replied simply and Yugi frowned with confusion. What did Seto Kaiba have anything to do with this?

He was about to ask, when Kari suddenly got unstuck and instead of climbing into the room properly, she ended up falling gracefully into Yugi, shoving him against the wall with her lack of balance -knocking him off of his own. Crystal blue eyes met amethyst and Yugi couldn't have been blushing harder by that point. He had never had a girl's body up against his, as he could feel every curve of her lithe body. He could feel her rapid breathing against his cheeks, the scent of cool mint filling his nostrils and making him lean forwards absently. Kari's eyes dropped down to his lips before her own curved upwards. The fact that Yugi's millennium puzzle stabbing into both of their abdomen's was not noticed.

As Yugi realized where Kari was looking, Yugi squirmed with nerves. "Uh...Kari?" he stuttered and all thought process was taken from him when her eyes snapped back up to his.

A strawberry blush coated her own cheeks when she noticed that she was making him uncomfortable and she backed away from him with a sheepish smile. "Sorry," she muttered before spinning away from him and flopping into his bed. Yugi watched her with curious eyes.

"I still don't know why you are here," Yugi replied, somehow finding his voice, although it was a bit scratchy.

Kari pulled her legs up underneath her, sitting cross legged in the middle of his bed. Her hands smoothed out any crevices of the sheets while she grinned at him. "I told you! I wanted to see you. We have to be competitors out there and I'd rather have some down time, ya know?"

Yugi nodded with understanding as he walked over to her, sitting down on the bed in front of her awkwardly. He was still pretty shaken from the close proximity that they had just been in a few moments prior. Suddenly though, what she had said before came back to him, sparking his curiosity. "Uhm, Kari? You said you didn't want Kaiba to know we were talking...what did you mean by that?" he asked shyly, not making eye contact.

Kari looked away with annoyance, a hiss escaping her as she did so. Yugi looked up, but he realized her reaction hadn't been directed towards himself. If he guessed right, he'd assume it was Kaiba. Finally, Kari sighed. "He's...possessive."

Yugi frowned, not understanding. Sure he knew how he was with his company, his cards, and his younger brother...but what did that have to do with Kari? When everyone was together, Kaiba seemed to not even know Kari whatsoever.

Kari's eyes lit up, realizing that Yugi had no idea what she was talking about. Seto and herself had played their parts better than she had thought. "Seto...he's my...boyfriend."

If Yugi had been expecting the explanation, it hadn't been that one. His eyes widened farther than they had in quite some time and a strange feeling in the pit of his stomach rendered him speechless temporarily. Kari watched his reaction before her lips tilted upwards ever so slightly.

"We have to keep it a secret for publicity sake. If I win this tournament, then it could look like Kaiba let me. Not that I will."

Yugi understood but he didn't approve of the way she degraded herself. "You could," Yugi reminded her, trying to coax her into have hope for herself.

Kari smiled brightly, making Yugi's heart flutter involuntarily. She was really pretty to begin with, but put a smile on her face, and she became ten times more attractive. Is that what Kaiba saw in her? "I appreciate that, Yugi. You are always so optimistic and ready to make people feel better about themselves. I love that about you," she said, making him blush again with a little smile. That just fueled her own grin. Yugi was a very cute boy. "But actually, it's very true. I won't win. There is more than just a tournament going on here and I know you know that. Kaiba doesn't want to hear any of it, and well, he has his own thoughts about the whole thing..." her voice trailed off as if thinking about something, but she didn't continue on about it.

The knowing feeling that had been creeping up on Yugi from the moment he got onto the blimp returned at Kari's statement. She was correct. There was much more going on than just a contest to see who was the better duelist. The fact that Marik was on the blimp and in the contest made things incredibly, well, not good.

"You're right," Yugi relented. He wondered what all she knew about all of this. "Have you...um, had any encounters with the rare hunters?"

Kari nodded a little too eagerly. "They wanted my Kaiser Sea Horse. I outsmarted them, though only by a hair. I'm guessing they were trying to take your rare card as well?"

Yugi blushed, thinking his cards weren't the only thing that they were trying to steal. His hand absently moved up to the pyramid hanging from the chain around his neck. "Yes," he stated seriously. "We all need to be very careful in this tournament. I've found out that Marik is the leader of that rare hunter group."

Kari didn't gasp like Yugi had expected her to with hearing the news, she just stared at him with a frown. "I knew it," she murmured. "That slug. He's way too obvious not to be. Going around, acting as if he is so innocent. No one who looks like him is that innocent. And then you have to take into consideration that he has the remaining god cards." She seemed to have been thinking aloud, so when she realized what she had let slip her eyes widened and her hands slapped onto her mouth in horror. Seto would be so mad to know that she had told Yugi about this.

Yugi smiled sympathetically and placed a hand onto her shoulder. "I already knew, Kari," he said and she visibly relaxed but this news shocked her.

"How?"

"I've dueled him before. Granted he was using another one of his mind slaves, but yes."

"And...you won?"

Yugi nodded, looking a little proud since that seemed to be an impressive feat in the girl's eyes. He straightened up a little. "Yes."

Kari beamed. "Wow! That's awesome! So that means you have a god card right?!"

Yugi couldn't help but smile back at her, just as big and he nodded. For the first time, he let the excitement of the fact that he had obtained a god card show. He had been looking it at as a burden, or just a piece of the puzzle of overcoming all of this Marik stuff. Something about Kari made him think differently.

Suddenly, the door of his room slammed open unexpectedly and Kari stiffened with a look of horror on her face. Yugi turned around swiftly, expecting Marik, but instead saw Seto Kaiba looking murderous in the doorway. From the look on his face, he could very well be Marik. He flew up into a defensive stance in front of Kari, but she beat him to it and came to a stop in between them both with a pleading look of peace on her face.

"What...are you doing in here Kari?" Seto asked in a low, dangerous voice, his cobalt eyes staring straight over Kari's head and into Yugi's violet ones.

Kari tried to keep control over herself. "I was just hanging out with Yugi before bed." Apparently that wasn't the appropriate way of saying that because Seto practically growled and took a step forwards. Kari was ready though, and she took a step towards him. She knew that if he decided to react offensively to Yugi, Kari wouldn't be able to hold him back. She knew how Seto could be. It was one of the reasons she had been attracted to him. She felt safe. And safety had been something she'd never felt before him. But she didn't need any protection from Yugi. She desperately wanted to be friends with the little spiky haired boy.

"Kaiba we were just talking. Why are you getting so angry?" Yugi asked him, his eyes narrowing. He didn't like the way that Seto was about Kari. It surly didn't make their relationship look all too good.

"Why am I getting so angry?" Seto countered, his eyes narrowed into slits behind his dark brown bangs. Kari fought back the urge to brush the strands away to see that beautiful face she loved so much. Even when it was angry looking. "Should you really be fraternizing with your competitor Muto? I let it slide with your dweeb squad, but when you begin to branch out to the others, I have to make a stand. This is a competition, not a friendly go around."

Yugi realized Seto was trying to keep the fact that him and Kari were together a secret still, not knowing that Kari had told him. Not knowing the full extent of their relationship, he didn't want anything to happen to Kari on behalf of him. So he played along. "You're right," he stated, letting his face return back to normal, a look of apology gracing his features.

Seto quirked an eyebrow with shock, as he had been expecting to fight with the smaller boy. Kari was, too, stunned, spinning around to look at Yugi with disbelief.

Yugi didn't look at Kari, not wanting to set Seto off again. So he stared directly into Seto's eyes as he spoke next. "We are competitors. And we shall leave it at that...Kari, you should probably go to your own room now. I'll see you tomorrow at the next duel."

Yugi felt regret bubble up inside of him as he felt the saddened gaze that belonged to Kari. He didn't risk looking at her though and he was relieved to see Seto backing out of the room. Yugi sincerely hoped that this hadn't ruined their budding friendship. He really liked Kari, she was bright and energetic. And from what he saw in her duels, she was smart as well. If he wasn't shy and she wasn't dating Kaiba, he would probably try to get closer to her. But both things held him back and he turned around to signal that the conversation was over.

Kari watched him with contempt before leaving with Seto, defeated. As soon as the door was closed, leaving Kari and Seto alone in the hallway, she turned on the much taller man with a glare. "I appreciate your concern for me, but I was just being friends with Yugi. I like him," she hissed, but didn't object when Seto took her hand -gently. Although he didn't look pleased at all. He tugged her down the hall.

"Like him? Yugi's an egotistic brat. Not to mention you're supposed to be on my side," Seto bit off, jealousy deep within his soul.

Kari held back the urge to roll her eyes at her boyfriend. "I am on your side, Seto. Always," she reassured him softly and was pleased to see his hardened expression soften just slightly. "But I still want to be friends with others. Yugi is one of them."

Seto stopped abruptly and Kari ran into his side, but he caught her by the waist when she almost fell. "Why do you want to be friends with Yugi so bad? Before now you could have cared less," Seto demanded, looking deep into her eyes for an answer. Kari swallowed nervously, and he saw it in her eyes, before she relented.

"Because he is nice. He understands things other's don't," Kari admitted, hinting at the truth. She didn't want to tell Seto that the reason why she felt so comfortable with the small boy was because Yugi saw outside of the box and Seto didn't. Even if it was right in front of his face, plain as day, he denied it ever happening out of pure stubbornness. And that was something Kari didn't like.

Seto wasn't ignorant though. "And I'm not any of those things, so you go looking for it in someone else?" The hurt was all over his eyes but he was trying to keep it from showing. Kari saw it though and she felt incredibly guilty.

"Don't say it like that," Kari said with a frown, her hands running up his arms. He wasn't wearing his long jacket, he was left in his black turtle neck and black pants. "You make it sound like I'm trying to cheat on you. And that's something I'd never do," she sincerely swore. She had always been devoted to this man. He was everything to her.

Seto pressed her against the wall, making her heart speed up, and he leaned his forehead up against hers as he looked into her eyes. "How do I know it's the truth? You two were in his bed-"

"On his bed," Kari corrected sternly. "And had space between us. We were just talking about the tournament."

Seto was silent for a moment, conflicted emotions swarming his eyes as she looked up within them. Her hands ran up to his shoulders, her fingers playing with the back ends of his hair. Seto closed his eyes at the touch and Kari smiled. "You didn't tell him anything did you?" he muttered, and Kari knew exactly what he hinting at.

"Of course not," Kari said before she did realize something. "Um, well not about the tournament. But...um, Seto. I did tell him about us." She didn't ever want to keep things from him. She expected him to be honest with her, so she must do the same.

Seto's eyes snapped open and he hardened all over again, and he leaned away from her. "You what?" he hissed. "You knew-"

"Yes I know. Yugi won't say anything. I know he won't."

Seto was fuming. That runt now knew something that he hadn't wanted anyone to know. He could blackmail him or whatnot. And he didn't like that feeling whatsoever. However, the jealousy that he had once been feeling was simmering. A wicked smirk tilted at his lips and Kari tilted her head curiously at it. Seto pressed up against her once more, leaving her breathless. "Well at least one thing is for certain, although I don't like Muto knowing something so personal about me, he knows I have something he doesn't," Seto murmured and began trailing hot kisses down her jaw towards her neck. She tasted of sweat and cold wind. Most likely from climbing outside of the blimp to get into Yugi's room. As if someone climbing on the side of his blimp would go unnoticed. His silly little girl.

Kari's eyes fluttered closed while her body gained heat from his soft lips. "And what's that?" she asked breathlessly, before gasping as Seto pressed his hips into hers to make a point. Literally.

"You," Seto said against her soft skin, his hands winding themselves along her hips. His want pressed firmly between her legs. "And soon...the god cards."


	2. We Can't Be Friends

Yugi sat on his bed as soon as the door was closed, his eyes feeling heavy and his heart tightening. He hated being mean to people. Kari was a very nice girl and she seemed to want to be friends. There had been a point in his life where he hadn't had anyone but one person as a friend, now he had many, and he wouldn't change them for the world. Kari had sought him out to become friends, and he had had to reject her. He didn't understand why Seto wouldn't let them be friends, except for the fact that maybe he didn't like his girlfriend being friendly with his rival. It would make sense. But it still didn't feel right.

Sighing, he dropped his head into his hands as he thought of a way around the possessive streak of Seto Kaiba. He felt bad for Kari. Did she have any real friends outside of Seto and his brother?

"You like her don't you?"

The low baritone voice of his partner made Yugi jump, but then sigh again as he looked up at Yami in spirit form. A blush swam fluidly on his round cheeks and he thought of denying it, but there was no fooling Yami as they had a mind link.

"Yes. As a friend though. I'm not sure, Yami, but I feel like there's more to this situation than just Kaiba being a protective boyfriend," Yugi admitted.

Yami sat himself down next to Yugi on the bed and lay a hand over the small boy's shoulder. "Perhaps you're right, Yugi. I couldn't help but notice that Kari was withholding something as she spoke with you." There was silence for a moment as both of them thought.

Yugi was the first to break the silence. "We will be seeing a lot of each other, Kari and I, during this tournament. Should I keep my distance?" he asked as he looked up at Yami, worry etched between his eyebrows.

Yami frowned and looked down at his hands, as he slid one off of the little one's shoulder. He could see inside of Yugi's heart, knowing exactly what the boy was feeling. There was a connection between them, not as strong as his and Yugi's, but there was one. Not even Seto Kaiba could keep such a thing apart. Yami wasn't happy about it, but there was nothing he could about it, except see how it all played out. There was much more at stake though, that had nothing to do with Kari that they needed to focus on. However, he knew of the compassion Yugi had for people and it only made him admire the boy more.

"For now. I think that in time, Kari will come back to you for friendship. She seems to be seeking for something that she sees in you that she can't find within others. However," Yami explained, "I feel like there might be more to Kaiba's protectiveness over her than you originally thought. Whatever it is, he is not harmful towards her. In fact, it could be a vulnerability."

"He must think that I will use it against him if I knew," Yugi understood. Kaiba had always been a private man and if his arch enemy found out about something that he could potentially black mail him with, he must be panicking and incredibly livid. He'd have to keep it a secret. Yugi wasn't a cunning person, he didn't blackmail. He had no reason to.

"Yes," Yami agreed. "For now, Yugi, you should get some rest. You've had a long day and tomorrow will be even more so as the suspense take's flight."

Yugi nodded and Yami stood. "Good night little one," he said before disappearing back into the puzzle as Yugi took it from his neck and placed it next to his pillow before climbing under the covers.

Yami was right. There were far more important things to worry about than being friends with Seto Kaiba's girlfriend. If only he could tell his heart that…

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The next day, the duelists were all gathered around the "bingo machine" as Joey and Tristan seemed to refer to it as. Yugi was standing awkwardly between Joey and Tea as his eyes attempted to keep staring forwards as the small balls with numbers painted on them scrambled together. She had entered the room last and was for sure standing alongside Mai Valentine. Since meeting each other, the two and only girls in the finalists had bonded over just that fact.

They were often seen together and it wasn't until just then that Yugi had realized just how badly he wanted to go over and talk to her. He wanted to know if she was all right after she had left with Seto.

The tall CEO in question was standing alongside his little brother, Mokuba, to the side of his officials who were turning the machine's handle to scramble the balls together. Yugi eyed him, noticing how he wasn't even looking in the direction of the duelists, least of all his girlfriend. Yugi kept a straight face but was surprised to realize just how good he was at acting uninterested in Kari at all.

Yugi couldn't help himself and he glanced down the line of duelists to see Kari smiling up at Mai as the taller woman muttered something under her breath. Yugi's eyes lit up at the sparkle in the crystal blue, loving the look of happiness all over the girl's face. Well, she looked unharmed. Perhaps Yami had been right.

"Of course I was right," Yami said through their mind link, appearing behind him. Yugi was used to this, but he couldn't help but snap his eyes back to the machine as if he had been caught stealing a cookie out of a cookie jar. His partner chuckled inwardly and Yugi blushed slightly. "You should be more careful. A certain CEO has caught you as well."

Yugi looked up at Seto with panic, and he caught the narrowed glare that Seto was giving him from across the large room. Yugi's heart began to pound and he pried his eyes away to keep himself under control. Anger began to bubble up inside of him then. Why did Seto let her be friends with Mai or whoever else, but not him? It was simply unfair. He tried very hard not to let his emotions show, not wanting Seto to see how this whole situation was effecting him.

Yami did notice and he placed a hand on the boy's shoulder. "You're doing the right thing Yugi."

"It's not fair," Yugi inwardly stated, his eyes absently narrowing slightly as he watched the balls mingle together.

"I know, but this is out of our hands. We need to be focusing on what is at stake."

Yugi mentally sighed and his outside features relaxed back into his comfortable stare. "I know. It's just hard."

"I know little one. You're always there to lend a friendly hand."

Yugi bit the inside of his cheek at the word friend. That's what it was though, right? Just a friend.

Yami turned his crimson eyes down to the back of the boys' head that practically mirrored his own with a deep frown. The boy's feelings were growing the more that they were being withheld. He slowly disappeared back into the puzzle, his own thoughts puzzling him as much as all the doors around him.

Yugi was so deep in thought that he hadn't realize what numbers the officials had suddenly announced, before he heard a "Whoop" of glee from beside him, followed by the names of who the numbers belonged to.

"The second duel will be between Joey Wheeler and Marik Ishtar!"

Yugi's heart leapt with fear as he turned to look at Joey who had a glare of determination on his face, staring directly at the man who had claimed to be Marik the first time they had seen him. He even had the millennium rod.

"Ya hear that, baldy? You're goin' 'gainst me! That means you're goin' down!" Joey taunted with a wide smirk on his face.

Yugi tried not to face palm at his friend's reckless bravery. It vaguely reminded him of Kari's antics the night before, hanging off of a blimp, but he didn't let that interfere with what was going on. His best friend, who was as rash as rash could be, was going against the most dangerous person on the blimp. Angry Kaiba, be damned.

"Joey, you need to be careful," Yugi warned him, but Joey wasn't hearing any of it. Not like Yugi expected him to. He loved the blond boy like a brother, but Joey could get a big head during the most inappropriate times.

"Careful?! Psh! It's he that needs ta be careful," Joey explained arrogantly, placing his hands behind his head as he turned smug. "He can't take the heat of ole Joey Wheel-a!"

"Talk all you want, little boy. But you don't know who you are messing with," Marik spoke in a cold dark tone, sending shivers down Yugi's spine and he could feel Tea shuddering beside him.

"More like ya don't know who you are messin' with!" Joey countered but their before duel bickerment ended when Seto himself stepped up to them to cut in.

"If you two are finished, you have a duel to attend to. So get moving," Seto stated through narrowed eyes, his eyes briefly landing on Yugi before moving past them, Mokuba following close behind with excitement.

Joey glared daggers at the back of Seto, before following, Marik silently heading for the door as well. The rest began to file out and Yugi felt someone brush up against his back. He blushed before he realized who it was and he spun around to see a flash of platinum blond hair. The wide playful grin on her face made his heart stutter and it took Tea to grab his shoulder to return him to earth.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Marik wasn't the true Marik. Yugi couldn't believe it. And on top of that, Joey had beaten this man –whoever he was—but they both had collapsed after a strike of lightening hit both of them. Joey was on his knees now, staring blankly with disbelief down at his hands. Had he really just done it?

Kari was on the sidelines alongside Mai, bouncing up and down with excitement. "Way to go Joey!" she shouted, despite the ferocious winds and fear that was tensing up the whole dueling pod on top of the blimp.

Suddenly though, as if the sky couldn't have gotten darker, even though it was early in the afternoon, it did darken. Seto was the only unfazed by this and his arms crossed over his broad chest had him staring at Joey as well, slightly impressed with the boy who seemed to lack any knowledge at all of anything. Not that he'd let it be known.

A scream had shivers running down everyone's spine and Yugi stepped forward, Yami now in control of his body, as he was under a lot of stress during the duel.

"Marik? What's going on?" Yami demanded of Marik who had been the one screaming, however at Yami's voice, he lowered his raised head to look dead directly into Yami's eyes –all the way through to Yugi who was staring back with fear and panic.

"I'm finally free, you fools," the voice that came from Marik was definitely not Marik's, which was puzzling all in itself. "I was restrained by that idiot Odion for years…but not anymore."

"Who are you?" Yami glared, a hunch gratifying him that this was not a good thing.

"I'm the true Marik," the voice that was definitely not Marik's announced. "And I'm not as kind as the Marik you've come to know. I will finish what Marik was incapable to do and strip you of your powers. So why don't you hand over the puzzle, eh Pharaoh?"

Yugi's fear and rage at this being took over, as he yelled through Yami's control, "Never!"

The cackle that came afterward did nothing to calm anyone's alarm. "You will soon. Mark my words."

And then he abruptly left through the latch door behind them all, leaving everyone to watch on.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Kari stood outside the medical room where she knew the man who had been pretending to be Marik was being taken care of. She had seen on Seto's computer screens that the group that held Yugi was in there speaking with the doctor. She was worried about what was going on. She'd had to play ignorant around Seto and Mokuba, but she needed to know the truth. And there was only one person she could count on to tell her what was going on.

Her heart was beating fast in her chest with anticipation, hoping that Seto was busy with the upcoming duel to look at the cameras to see her there. For all he knew, she was in their room taking a shower like she had told him she was going to be doing. She swallowed her nerves down but then was taken off guard when the door that she had been standing in front of swung open.

She recognized the two boys who exited first, Duke and Tristan, friends of Yugi's. She gave them a bright grin as they looked her over, their cheeks blushing and their eyes curious. "Hehe, don't mind me!" she chirped innocently.

Yugi was the one to exit after the two taller boys, and she quickly jumped to grab his hand, pulling him down the hallway away from his friends. "I'll return him in a second!" Kari called from under her shoulder, still giving the boys a wondrous grin, knowing they were looking on with confusion.

"K-kari? What are you—"

Kari tugged him into an empty storage room where she knew there were no cameras –since there wasn't a reason for one—and stifled his protests with a hand to his mouth. A blush crept onto his cheeks, but Kari didn't notice. She pulled the door shut behind them and then let go of his mouth, not realizing this was still Yami she was speaking with.

"You know how last night, when you told me that you knew there was more going on than just a tournament?" she quickly brought up, seeing his eyes widen and his body press flat up against the farthest wall behind him. He wasn't so sure about their close proximity by that point, but there was no way to escape.

"Yes," he blurted out.

Kari smiled, but her eyes were fierce. "What the hell is going on with Marik?"

Yami took a deep breath, calming himself, but was inwardly fighting with his partner who was struggling to regain control over his body. "Let me take care of this, Yugi. You're emotions are too connected with this girl," Yami told his partner mentally, before returning to the conversation at hand.

"We aren't completely sure, Kari," Yami began, crossing his arms over his chest. He was surprised to see her cheeks turn pink at the gesture. Did she…like Yugi as well? "I do know that the man held up in the medical room unconscious is not Marik like he had led us on to believe. You must know that these are dangerous times right now and it isn't stopping with the duel this afternoon."

Kari wasn't ignorant and she caught on to Yugi's meaning automatically. She looked as if she had been slapped. "Are referring to how Seto reacted last night? I talked to him and explained the situation. I know that if I talk to him again, he'll let me be friends with you—"

Yami cut her off, feeling the tighten of his chest that Yugi was feeling within him. "It has nothing to do with Kaiba, but if it did, then you and I both know that our friendship would never work. He's too protective of you. And most likely for a good reason." The look on her face told him he was hitting the head on the doornail. "But what I am saying is that it'd be best if you stayed away from me, Kari. All of my friends are in grave danger. Marik wants something from me that he will stop at nothing to get. I don't need another person I care about to get hurt because of me."

Kari's eyes drooped with sadness but she took a step towards him. "You care about me?" she asked quietly, surprised at the admittance.

Yami cleared his throat, looking uncomfortable for a moment at the slip of words. But it was true. Yami and Yugi both cared for the girl, however Yugi's feelings were much different. Even if he didn't want to admit the full extent of them.

"Of course I do Kari. If things were different," much different, "then we could be friends publically. But for now, we must keep this between us and let it fade."

Kari bit her lip and from within Yami, he felt Yugi's heart breaking at the sight of it. Yami knew how much the happiness of Kari got to Yugi. Despite his better judgement, he took Kari by the hand and pulled her into a hug.

The smell of vanilla wafted into him, his nose deep within her hair by this point. Yugi gasped mentally and Yami smiled slightly, his hands embracing the smaller girl's body. Kari wrapped her arms around Yami's middle and tightened the hug with a deep sigh against him.

"Thank you Yugi. You're an amazing friend. I just wish things were different," she mumbled into him.

"Thank you Yami," Yugi mentally spoke and Yami smiled in return. Yugi knew the pharaoh was right. This needed to be done to focus on what was coming his way. Too many people were in danger.

"Me too," Yami spoke into her hair before pulling away, seeing Kari smile up to him with a small tear fiddling with her eyelid, threatening to fall down her cheek. Yami wiped the tear away and took a breath. "Goodbye Kari. And good luck in the tournament."

Kari nodded. "You too Yugi. I'll still be cheering you on."

Yami smiled before exiting the storage room, leaving Kari alone for a moment to collect her thoughts. Although she was highly disappointed with the fact that they couldn't be friends, she knew it was the right thing to do to stop the friendship before it began. Despite how difficult it was, she was relieved to know that things could be less stressful. If that were possible.

After a couple minutes longer, to let Yugi get farther away, Kari finally left the closet. Her blue eyes raised to a camera in the corner of the wall, a red blinking light signaling that it was on. If Seto had seen them both exit the room, she'd be in so much trouble.

Knowing she'd need to not chance getting caught, Kari made her way back to their room where she was planning to either defend herself against her boyfriend or take a shower. Both of the options didn't seem right at that moment, her head too full of worry. The latter of the two sounded the best, the warm water most likely helping her to calm down.

Their room was nicer than the guest's, considering it was the owner of the blimp's room. Kari had a staged room that she had to be in at least a few times during the day, but at night Kari didn't want to be anywhere except by her boyfriend's side.

The bed was a king size, with light blue dressings. There was a large dresser than held both of their clothes, but mostly Kari's. She was a girl after all. He had equipped the room with a vanity, just for her, and she had fallen in love with it on the spot. She'd even want to take it with her once they returned back to his mansion.

There were large windows that looked out towards the sky, which was now darkening as the afternoon waned on. Kari was surprised to see the bedroom empty and she walked over to Seto's extra laptop that was lying on his desk to look down at the split screen that held all the camera angles of the blimp. The first one she looked at was the conference room, where Seto was busy speaking with his officials about something or other. So he hadn't seen, she sighed with relief. She didn't like this stuff going behind his back, but she didn't think she'd be able to talk herself out of this one.

The next room she saw Yugi and Joey sitting in Joey's room, both talking with serious expressions. They were probably speaking about what had happened during Joey's duel. She frowned darkly, not liking how this was all going on. Perhaps she should ask her boyfriend to stop the tournament. But she knew that it wouldn't matter. He wouldn't do it. If there was one thing she knew about Seto Kaiba, was that he was one stubborn boy.

Off to the left of the room was where the bathroom door was and she entered, pulling the door close and tugging off her clothing. Until then, she hadn't realized how sweaty she was. She looked at herself in the mirror and saw the wide alert in her eyes and paleness of her face. Granted, she did have a pale complexion to begin with, but it looked even more so at the moment. This was a look of fear.

Taking a deep breath, she turned the shower on and was thankful for the fast warming faucet as she entered. She closed her eyes and let the warmth of the water push away the tension of her stress.

Suddenly, a long pair of bare arms wrapped around her and pulled her into a soft chest. She smiled as her heart began to speed up and she fluttered her eyes open to see Seto's face, a tiny smile on his lips. She couldn't help but smile back, although there was something different that she was feeling as she looked up at him. However, she couldn't place it.

"Still in the shower? After all this time?" he murmured, running his fingertips up the small of her back, making her arch into him, feeling that he too was as naked as she was.

Kari looked away from him, pressing her ear against his chest as the water flowed over them. She was silent for a moment and she knew it had made Seto become worried. "I am stressed, Seto," she admitted in a small voice.

Seto ran his hands through her damp hair, watching thoughtfully as the water soaked it thoroughly. "About?"

Kari closed her eyes, reveling in the warmth and safety during times like these. "The tournament. I've told you before. I feel like there is something much more sinister going on than just dueling competitively against one another."

Seto narrowed his eyes but she didn't see him. "There's nothing competitive about it, Kari. You know who will win this tournament."

Kari smiled weakly as the warm water was making her breathless. "I know love," she said, while pulling her head away to place a hand to his cheek. He tilted his head into her touch. Gods, how he loved her touch. What he ever did to deserve her was beyond him. "However, I can't shake the feeling off."

Seto tore his gaze off of his girlfriend to look blankly at the tiled wall within the shower. She had brought this up many times during Battle City, even before they got on the blimp. He had pegged them down as anxiety because of those rare hunters that she had had to deal with. He had taken care of those men, the Kaiba way, but it hadn't seemed to make her fears disappear. Perhaps there was something more to how she was feeling. That duel that afternoon was strange, but he had been focusing more on the summoning of the god cards. It had been a bit disappointing, to find out that it had been a fake card, but at least he knew the general idea of how to summon it.

Seto closed his eyes and held her against him, trying to think of nothing but the warmth of her body up against his own. This had been for his own benefit. She had just wanted to join because she loved to duel. And he loved her for it, of course. But if there was any danger that came her way, he would have to react in a way that no one had ever seen before. She was as dear to him as his brother was. They were to never leave his sight.

"I'll look into it, okay?" Seto breathed and Kari's face lit up completely and he couldn't help but smile back. She was so very beautiful.

"Thank you so much love," she said happily before taking his cheeks into her hands and pulling him into a swift kiss. It left him breathless but had been short, as she had turned around to grab the soap. Dark blue eyes narrowing, he took her by the waist and spun her around.

Her eyes widened but he pressed her up against the wall before she could say a word. He too needed to let go of some stress. She seemed to mirror that and she tugged on the back of his hair with a wicked gleam in her eyes, knowing exactly how it would affect him.

Seto growled and grabbed her by the thighs, joisting her up so she wrapped her legs around his waist. They were opposites, but they matched. She was short, he was tall. But they fit together perfectly. He was dark, she was light. And they balanced each other.

Kari ran her hands up through his hair and bit her bottom lip with anticipation before he captured her lips and sent her over the brink. With her legs locked around him, he let go of one thigh to caress a breast, making her gasp into his mouth. He took full advantage and brushed his tongue along hers, hearing her moan into him and feel her fingers tighten into his hair. His fingertips found a nipple and he played with it and tugged, making her breath hitch with his actions.

This was what made him a man and made Yugi a boy. Yugi could win all the card games in the world, but he'd never have a girl like Kari. Ever.

A knock on the door made them froze.

Seto pulled away from Kari's plump lips and he glared behind him at the door.

"Seto?" his little brother's voice called from outside the door.

Kari giggled and hid her face into Seto's neck, and he growled with annoyance. "Go away Mokuba!"

"But big brother! The next duel opponents are going to be announced in ten minutes! I need you!"

Seto sighed with exasperation, his forehead dropping to Kari's shoulder. "Two minutes!" he shouted over the water, making Kari giggle again and unhitch her legs from his hips. His hands shot out to stop them though, and he lifted his head with a wicked look.

"How about it Kari? You think we can finish in two minutes?" he inquired, making her grin stupidly.

Kari ran her hands down his chest and then further south, grasping his hardened length. Seto sucked in a small breath and his eyes darkened, if that were possible. She leaned close to his mouth, her eyes lowering to his thin lips sensually as she slowly began to stroke him. "I think you can," she teased and Seto growled before setting her down on her feet.

Kari busted into a fit of giggles and Seto ignored her, getting out of the shower to pull on his clothes with a glare and an angry stamina. Kari pulled the shower door closed and began washing her hair real quick, all the while laughing. Seto slammed the bathroom door after a minute, which sent Kari even further into laughter. It had seemed to really amuse her and it had her beaming for the rest of the night.

Even when she saw Yugi down in the large announcement room. Seto was glaring darkly at everything and everyone as the machine was turned again. Yugi gave her a questioning look but didn't say anything, in fact tore his eyes away as soon as he looked at her, staying true to his word. Kari felt that strange feeling at the core of her stomach strengthen with disappointment and the cold hard truth. Yugi was being a good friend by not being friends with her, if that made sense. He was keeping her out of danger, but there was one thing that disturbed her.

Who was going to keep Yugi out of trouble? And what did Marik want from him?


	3. Testing the Truth

Kari was crying and she couldn't stop. It took a lot for her to behave this way but after that day's duel, she couldn't hold it back any longer. All the fear, the stress, the anger, the confusion –it was all too much to bear. She sat in the chair next to a hospital bed, hunched over the bed with her head in her arms as she sobbed.

"Oh Mai, why did it have to be you?" she cried, not hearing the door of the medical room open slowly.

"Kari?"

The blond sat up at the familiar voice and turned to look at Mokuba. He looked deeply concerned as he approached her. "Are you okay?" he asked warily.

Kari didn't like showing weakness, especially in front of a child that looked up to her, but she couldn't stop the sniffing and her heart tightening each time she thought of Mai. She had learned so much cruel stuff that day and Seto hadn't even seemed phased by it. How he could not realize, even after being transported to another realm, that there was something evil going on.

"No, Mokuba. I'm not," Kari admitted, looking down shamefully at Mai's unconscious, beautiful face. She looked peaceful, but Kari knew the truth. Her soul wasn't even in her body at that point. She was long gone and there was no telling if they could ever get it to return. Her one and only friend that had stuck by her, who understood everything she had gone through in her life, was now gone. Her boyfriend didn't understand where she was coming from and Yugi was off limits. She was definitely not okay.

But she couldn't rant to a little boy like Mokuba, no matter how wise he was compared to his years of age. His small hand touching her shoulder had her breaking all over again. He let her cry some before getting very worried. No one should ever have to cry so much.

"Should I get Seto?" he suggested. Kari was like a sister to him and he knew that she made Seto very happy. He hated seeing her this way, but there was nothing he could do to help her. Something had happened to her friend and she was obviously distraught over it.

"N-no," Kari protested with wide tearful eyes. "He's busy looking up god card information. Leave him be."

"But don't you think that he should be comforting you to make you feel better about your friend?" Mokuba asked with a tilt of his head, his eyes wondering from Mai back to Kari.

"It's all right, Mokuba. I promise. I just got to let it out and then I'll be okay," Kari said, trying to summon a smile to her face to reassure the boy. It didn't work but Mokuba respected it and nodded anyways.

"Can I get you anything?" he asked instead.

Kari couldn't help but smile for real this time, not as bright as usual, but it was still there. "No Mokuba. Thank you though. You're very sweet, just like your brother can be."

The light went on in Mokuba at the comparison to his brother and he couldn't stop himself from hugging Kari tight. "All right, well tell me if you need anything. I'll be helping Seto!" he called before running out the door happily. It took so little to make him happy, Kari thought with a small smile.

Her eyes once again fell onto Mai's lifeless body and she took a deep breath, trying to stop her broken sobs from erupting again. She needed to pull herself together. She wasn't helping Mai by sitting at her corpse, crying her eyes out. Mai would probably kick her for doing so anyways. She needed to figure out how to help, and the only way for her to do so, is to get in touch with the people who knew about this shadow realm.

Kari stood up with determination before leaving the room, pausing in the doorway to look back at Mai. "Don't worry Mai. I'll help save you."

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A knock on Joey's door brought him out of his own depressing thoughts, but he stood up on numb legs to answer. The small blond in his doorway left him confused with wide brown eyes. "Kari?"

She looked like a mess, but she didn't look half as bad as she felt when she smiled. Even Joey felt the room brighten. "Hi Joey. I know we haven't talked much, but I was wondering if I could ask you a few questions."

Joey stared at her for a moment, wondering if this was some kind of trick. He leaned forwards and poked her, making her widen her eyes and look at him like he'd gone crazy. "You're not pullin' my leg are ya? Cause I have had enough of those evil guys."

Kari gaped at his accusation before actually busting into laughter. "Me? An evil guy? Puh-lease," she said with a smile, which tilted her eyes a bit. It felt good to laugh again after so much crying. "So can I come in?"

Joey blushed. "You can't be too careful nowadays, ya know," he explained as he moved out of the way to let her in. As she walked past him, Joey eyed her with interest and he closed the door. "Not to sound like I don't wantcha here, but aren't you better friends Yug?"

Kari sat down at the table in front of his bed and looked up at him. "Yugi? Oh, um, we are having some differences at the moment…" she lied, well not really. They actually were, but it wasn't the way she had made it sound.

Joey grew suspicious but didn't question her on it as he too sat down across from her. Kari was well aware that Seto could see her in there with him at any given moment, but she wasn't worried. After everything that was going on, an angry boyfriend seemed painless.

"Okay, whatcha want to ask me?" Joey asked, his hands fidgeting together on the table. Kari watched his fingers thoughtfully for a moment before clearing her throat.

"Well, I need you to tell me everything you know about the shadow realm."

Joey looked as if he was about to fall out of his seat at the mention of that. Especially after what they all had gone through that day and then there was the fact that they had lost Mai…He felt tears prick at his eyes with the reminder, but he held them back. He didn't need to cry in front of Kari. But as he looked back at her, he realized she had been staring observantly at him and he blushed, pressing his palms into his eyes to hold his emotions back.

"It's okay Joey, I lost her too," Kari said softly, before reaching out and touching his arm.

Joey tensed under her touch, but he refused to remove his hands. He. Would. Not. Cry. Not in front of a girl!

"Look, if it's too painful to talk about it. I understand. I'm having a hard time dealing with it myself. But I need to know everything I can about it so I can help get her back."

Joey gritted his teeth before slowly removing his hands, his eyes red from pressing on them so tightly and he wiped at his eyes shamefully before leaning back in his chair. "I dunno really. I've only witnessed it a few times before. It's like this place, where evil souls go when they are banished there. If you are challenged to a duel while you are in this realm, then whoever loses is kept in the realm forever….that's…what happened to Mai," his voice cracked and he refused to look at Kari who was sat motionless in her chair as she listened.

"Wait, are you saying we can't get her back then? That her soul is lost forever?" Kari asked, fear high in her voice at the prospect. No, it couldn't be true. She couldn't be lost so quickly.

"I honestly don't know, Kari," Joey admitted, sounding so painful it hurt Kari's heart all over again. Realization hit her hard.

"Joey…was there something…between the two of you?" she asked meekly, not wanting to step on any cracks that could potentially hurt Joey worse.

Joey snapped his head up at the question, ready to deny any feelings he had for the unconscious woman in the medical room. "She—"his shoulders slumped when he realized that Kari wouldn't say anything. She was too good of a person. And she had been very good friends with Mai during their time together. "No, there wasn't. But the feelings I have for her…I just wish she could have returned them. I thought maybe she did at one point, but I screwed it up and now…she's gone."

Kari stood and embraced Joey, which he tensed at before relaxing. Kari was a very sweet person, he thought as he wrapped his arms around her small body for the hug before she pulled away. "Don't worry Joey, I'm going to help you get her back."

Kari began walking towards his door, leaving Joey standing there baffled. "What's going on between you and Yugi?" he asked, curiosity definitely killing the cat with that one.

Kari blushed unwillingly and turned back around to catch the suspicious eyes of Joey Wheeler. "Nothing. Not even friends, anymore. It's complicated," she relented with a sigh. She ran her hand through her tangled hair, wishing she could say more.

"Ya know you can tell me. Me and Yug have been friends for years. Anyone who is friends with him, is friends with me," Joey said, his mouth turning upwards on one side. Kari bit her lip to hold back the grateful grin threatening to take place on her lips, but to no avail.

"Thank you Joey," she said with a beaming grin, hope finally breaking through. Perhaps with friends on her side, Mai could be saved and that evil bastard Marik could be destroyed once and for all.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Where have you been?"

Kari ignored the annoyance of her boyfriend's voice and headed straight for the bathroom that connected to their bedroom. The sensual moment they had had the day before was long gone out of her mind and it left her feeling very empty on the Seto side of her world, for the first time ever.

Heavy footsteps coming her way told her Seto was following her and she tried not to let it irritate her. She turned the sink on and began wetting her face, wanting to get all remnants of her crying to disappear before he entered. When she rose from wetting her face, she reached for the towel and dried her face, before realizing that Seto had handed the towel to her. She caught his narrowed, suspicious cobalt blue eyes, before tearing her gaze away to brush her hair.

"Mokuba said that you were in the medical room with Mai. When I went to look for you, you weren't there. So I got worried," Seto explained as if she had asked him a question or something or other.

Kari stared at her reflection as she worked the knots out of her hair without saying a word. A few silent minutes passed as she brushed her hair and Seto stared at her, leaning up against the doorway of the bathroom. She knew she was going to be interrogated and she wished he would just come out and say it.

"So you're friends with Wheeler too?" he finally asked, disdain heavy in his voice.

"Yes," Kari said flatly, which took him off guard. Seto had never heard his lovely melodic voice of a girlfriend sound so plain. Something was wrong.

Seto narrowed his eyes and stopped her from brushing her hair by grabbing her wrist and turning her around to look up at him. She did so, but there was no sparkle that he yearned to see every time he thought of her. It had been that sparkle that had made him fall in love with her in the first place.

"What did he do to you?" he demanded and Kari stared back at him, finally showing an emotion even just through her eyes: anger.

"He didn't do anything to me, Seto," she snapped, making Seto step backwards with his eyes widened. She'd never sounded so angry with him before. "If you had been paying any attention today, besides the attention you give those stupid god cards that you don't even have yet, you'd realize that I lost my best friend today."

Seto was silent after that, staring at her with realization. Of course. Mai Valentine had been her companion through this tournament, bonding over the fact that they were the only girls to get into the finals. And she had been the only friend Seto was okay with Kari having….because she was a female.

During that duel, he hadn't been focusing on anything except the god card that Marik Ishtar held in his deck. How he summoned it, what were the incantations, and if it were possible for someone other than Marik to say such words. Of course, after vigorous research, he was able to find out that it was indeed possible. He had wanted to Kari first, but she had been nowhere to be found. Yes, he had known about Mai being hospitalized…but the way Kari spoke about her, it sounded as if Mai was dead or something. His doctors had pronounced her still alive. Had something changed while he was in his lab?

"She's…alive right?" he asked, looking within her eyes for the truth. Had he been so blind to overlook something like that because of the god cards?

Kari pushed him away distastefully, and turned her back on him, her arms coming up to fold across her chest. "Yes, she is still alive…for now. But the matter of her waking up is another thing completely."

Seto frowned with confusion. "What are you talking about Kari?"

Kari took a deep breath to calm herself, knowing she was losing her temper and knowing that she shouldn't. But her emotions were jumbled today. "From what I understand it," she began in a softer tone. "She is in a sort of coma state. Her soul is…well, it's no longer within her body."

Kari felt Seto's burning gaze on her back and she looked down at the tile of the floor with feign interest. "That's what I was talking with Joey about. I wanted to understand a bit more about what had happened to her during her duel. You and I both know that a regular duel, simulation or not, doesn't render someone in a coma."

Seto was silent for quite some time and Kari finally turned to see his reaction. Seto's face was expressionless and she wished she could tell what he was thinking. She sighed and wrapped her arms around his middle to press her ear against his chest. He tensed under her touch and that made her look up at him with worry.

He was looking straight ahead.

"Seto?"

"I need to go to my lab," he suddenly said before untangling himself from her and leaving the room abruptly.

Kari frowned with confusion before hearing their bedroom door slam. Only then did she react. If that was how he was going to act then fine! She'd go to someone who understood and who wanted to help! Kari groaned and changed her clothes, wearing a pair of jean shorts and a red tank top, before leaving the room herself with purpose out of spite.

She knocked on the door hard, not realizing how much power she had behind it until Yugi opened the door with wide, stunned eyes. "Kari! What's wrong?"

Kari didn't say anything as she pushed his way into Yugi's room before she suddenly began ranting as she paced without really seeing anything. "He's a stupid jerk who only thinks of those stupid cards and locks himself up in his lab. I hate those cards, they are stupid and I wish they were never created. And he can't see what is clearly in front of him and it's breaking my heart—"

Yugi half listened to what she was saying, slowly closing the door while never taking his eyes off her. She was obviously upset and it was overwhelming to say the least. He had never seen Kari like this before. Something must have happened to really set her off, let alone have her standing in his bedroom again after they had broken their friendship up before it had even started.

Yugi took a deep breath and approached her pacing form, before catching her by the wrist to stop her. Kari's voice trailed off and she looked at Yugi as if seeing him for the first time. He blinked and she looked down shamefully.

"Are you all right, Kari?" he asked her, concern laced within his voice.

Kari ran a hand through her hair, making it messed up again. "Seto has crossed the line, Yugi. He won't see that something is going on! He won't stop obsessing over those stupid god cards and I can't get him to listen to a word that I say. I don't understand him. And now that Mai—"her voice broke and she swallowed down her tears, while Yugi watched her through furrowed eyebrows. "He had no compassion Yugi. He didn't even care that I was upset."

Yugi was taken aback by this statement. From before he found out about Kari's relationship with the CEO, he had always seen Seto as an emotionless man who was too wrapped up into his business to care for anyone but himself. The only exception was Mokuba, but even that went so far. But after finding out that someone as heartless as Seto seemed to be had been swept by sweet Kari, then he was beginning to wonder if he had been wrong.

"I'm sure that wasn't the case, Kari…he was probably just busy, or something," Yugi said, feeling wrong by making excuses for Seto, but wishing he could get Kari to smile again. He couldn't get the look of pure horror on her face when Mai had been taken by Marik during the duel.

"No Yugi, you didn't see him. I hugged him, and he stiffened up like he didn't want me around. And then he left for his lab….he—I—"words escaped her and Kari threw herself at Yugi. His eyes shot wide and a bright blush peached his cheeks. She buried her face into his neck, her arms wrapping around his middle to keep herself close as she lost control over her emotions for the second time that day. It was now night and she was still crying. What a loser, she thought bitterly.

After realizing she was sobbing on him, and that she wasn't letting go any time soon, Yugi hesitantly wrapped his arms around her slim body to hold her. She needed this comfort. If anyone was going to give her this, he was happy it was him. At first the embrace had been awkward, but soon Yugi felt himself pet her hair and stroke her back. After a few minutes of this, Kari's sobs subdued and she pulled away with a red face. Her eyes were bloodshot from crying so hard and it made her look wild, the blue irises standing out brightly from the red of her whites. Yugi swallowed back the emotion he felt for her and lifted her chin with a finger, so she looked up at him.

"He's probably just stressed Kari, like we all are. Things in his tournament are not happening like had originally been planning. You must be patient with him. For now, you just need friends," he explained softly, his lips curving upwards to try to reassure her.

Kari stared back at him for a minute, her lips parting slightly as she breathed rapidly from her crying. Suddenly she leaned forwards and Yugi felt his breath leave him completely, but instead of kissing him like he had originally foreseen a split second before, she leaned her forehead against his shoulder and took a deep breath.

"You're right Yugi. I know you told me not to be friends with you, but I don't have anyone else on the blimp anymore. With Mai gone, Seto in his lab, and Mokuba too young to understand, I needed you."

Yugi visibly blushed and he felt her shudder against him, making him look down at her curiously. She was hurting, and he knew how she felt. He remembered how his friends had been mind-slaved, his granpa had been taken from him, and all that he rendered safe was now dangerous.

All thoughts of keeping his distance was becoming a distant memory. She needed someone, and she needed him.

Sorry Yami, but I can't deny her.

And the Pharaoh watched through narrowed eyes as Yugi wrapped his arms back around Kari to comfort her. Nothing good would come of this. He knew it.


	4. Mind Crush

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Omg! I had no idea I left this unfinished until now. I actually completed the story... just didn't realize I hadn't uploaded the chapters! Sorry about that!

Kari closed the door behind her, a small secretive smile on her face. Yugi and she had spent most of the night watching TV and fiddling with Yugi's excess duel monster cards. In all honesty, she had almost forgotten about the lingering doom that seemed to hover over them all. They avoided the topic of Seto completely, but Kari had caught Yugi looking at her with a cute look of concern on his face. She had dismissed it by changing the conversation quickly. She didn't want to think about him. It hurt too much.

Suddenly, that didn't seem too doable.

Her heart jumped completely out of her body and a small squeak escaped her as she caught the gaze of dark blue eyes. If he had been angry before when she had been with Yugi, it was nothing to what was about to come.

"Seto," she breathed, actually very surprised to see him. How long had she been with Yugi? She didn't have a watch. "Y-you scared me."

Seto was leaning against the wall, his arms crossed over his chest, his chin practically resting against it as well. His eyes were narrowed as he looked down at the floor, his hair fanned out over his eyelids. His silence was what concerned her, but she didn't feel like he had any right to be angry with her. He had left her to go research duel monster cards!

Kari knew that you could cut the tension in the hallway with a knife, and she prayed that everyone kept in their bedrooms, even though it would be highly improbable for anyone to step out into the hallway at that moment. It was probably midnight.

"Se—"

"Do you know how long I've been standing out here?" Seto suddenly asked her, his voice low –quiet. She could tell he was drowsy as well. She swallowed nervously.

"No," she admitted, before crossing her own arms over her chest, trying to keep herself leveled. "I wouldn't know since you just left me in the bathroom without any explanation or compassion when I needed you the most."

The hurt in her voice betrayed her strong façade, and Seto finally looked up at her but she couldn't see what he was feeling because his hair was hiding his eyes.

"I told you where I was going," he defended himself and she couldn't help but hiss in frustration.

"You just don't get it do you, Seto? I was torn up because of Mai and everything that's happening right now, and I needed you, and you didn't even care."

"You were angry with me."

"No, I was upset. I hugged you and you froze up like a popsicle before exiting to your man cave and researched the dumb god cards."

"Stop insulting them, Kari. They are going to help me."

"To make you more powerful," she mimicked and he took her by surprise by pressing her up against Yugi's door while looking deep within her eyes.

"Will you just stop and trust me," he hissed and Kari narrowed her eyes at the man that she still called her boyfriend, lover, and best friend. She had always trusted him. But the fact that he wasn't seeing what was clearly being placed right in front of his face was becoming more than just a personality clash.

"How do I know that I can? You're acting weird lately," she admitted, her tone softening with the honesty.

"You'll see all in good time," he murmured, before the door was suddenly pulled open by a certain spiky haired boy in blue button up pajamas. Kari fell into him, knocking him over with a collective "oof!" and Seto stood over them, his eyes narrowing down at them.

Kari pulled herself up, blinking from the impact and the sudden loss of balance. "Kar—Kaiba," Yugi stuttered, his eyes lifting to the taller man standing in his doorway while he and Seto's girlfriend were tangled on the floor.

Yugi and Kari scrambled to get up and Kari looked up to see her boyfriend looking more livid than she had ever seen him. Grabbing his forearm, Seto didn't react. At least he didn't stiffen away, like she had half expected after earlier that day.

"You think it's cool to snuggle up with other people's girlfriends, do you Muto?" Seto asked, his voice too low for anyone's liking.

Kari perked up. "We weren't—"

Seto raised his hand and silenced her, so Yugi spoke up with a defiant look in his violet eyes. Apparently they weren't pretending to not know of Yugi knowing about their relationship anymore. "We weren't doing anything Kaiba, and you know that. You're seeing what you want to see because you're jealous."

Yugi was too smart for his own good, but Seto wasn't relenting. In fact, he was seething. "You don't know what you're talking about runt," he hissed, taking a step forwards tauntingly, a slow smirk appearing on his face as he continued. "You think because you won Duelist Kingdom, gained a god card, and have won every duel you've faced in this tournament, that you can just take everything from everyone? Including Kari?"

Yugi's eyes flashed with anger. How dare he say such things! Sure he liked Kari, but he would never do something as deceitful as that. "I don't want Kari like that Seto. We're just friends," he announced, despite the sudden twinge in his heart at the statement. He was being honest. He couldn't have her the way that he wanted, so friendship was something he'd have to settle for. If that was even possible. Before that day, he had broken their friendship off too.

"Could have fooled me when I saw you with your hands all over her," Seto snapped, his eyes murderous as he stared down at the smaller boy who looked angrier than Kari had ever seen him.

"You don't know what you're talking about Kaiba!" Yugi shouted with a red shaky face, before he felt the change of Yami taken over.

"Let me take it from here, little one. You don't deserve to be treated this way," Yami inwardly stated before glaring at Seto. Yugi was seething, but he let his partner take over.

"Let it go Kaiba," Yami barked. "You have no right to accuse me of doing anything with Kari as we are just merely friends, nor do you have the right to accuse Kari of being unfaithful. That's unfair to her and to myself. I was simply there when she needed someone."

Seto seemed to look even more furious with those words, as if it were possible. Kari was shaking from beside him. They were being ridiculous. And she was extremely tired. Her head hurt from all the crying she had done that day.

"She doesn't need you, Muto!"

"Didn't seem like that tonight when she came in here crying her eyes out when you left her when she needed you."

"You know nothing!"

"I know enough! Now would you please take your girlfriend and go get some sleep for the tournament tomorrow? Give her the attention you think I'm giving her. If you're that insecure, then do something about it!"

By this time, Seto's hands were shaking and Kari jumped to grab him before he could lunge forwards towards Yugi. "Stop Seto! Please, just come to bed, with me. Please?"

Seto pried his dagger throwing cobalt eyes from Yugi's confident violet ones to lock on to crystal blue. She was pleading with him, but if he left with her then, he would be doing what Yugi had asked him to do and he didn't like that feeling. But he didn't want to upset her more than he already had. Yes, he did feel guilty for what he had done that day. But she knew full well that he wasn't good with emotions, she had been with him for a couple years now. So why she had flown off the handle had puzzled him. The fact that she had thrown herself at Yugi Muto afterwards had angered him. He felt betrayed, hurt, and furious at this sniveling little brat before him. If he didn't have Slifer the Sky Dragon in his deck, he would send him off the blimp at that moment in time. Damn those god cards.

Seto breathed hard through his nose before taking Kari by the hand and tugging her out of the room without a word. Kari looked behind her at Yugi one last time, who had now control over his body once more, to catch his apologetic gaze. Kari offered a small smile before the door swung closed.

Seto didn't say a word until they were in their bedroom alone. He slammed the extra laptop on his desk shut, not caring what happened on the blimp without his knowing. He pulled Kari onto the bed with him and she looked up at him with worried eyes.

"Kari...I…" his voice trailed off, his mouth going dry. He looked away, angry at himself for losing his temper and wishing he could be more open with her.

Kari kept silent, staying patient to let her boyfriend speak. He didn't and she looked down at her hands, worrying her lip as she mulled over the situation. "Let's just go to sleep okay? Put today behind us and be productive tomorrow. Sound good?"

Seto wrapped an arm around her, pulling her to him and she rested her head up against his neck, inhaling his lovely scent –her eyes fluttering closed with a small smile curving at her lips. She felt him press his lips to the side of her head and she melted. This was what she had been wanting all along. And she was content with it right now.

"What?" Kari asked, outraged at her boyfriend for even thinking about what he was asking her to do.

"Stay with Mokuba, I can handle it," Seto informed her, his hands on her shoulders to look within her eyes. She was already tearing him and it was killing him. He had never seen her so miserable since taking her in that rainy night.

"I could lose you Seto, just like I lost Mai!"

"My opponent isn't Marik, I'll be fine. I just need to win the duel and get it over with."

"But what if he intervenes?"

"Then I'll deal with it, Kari. Have you no faith in me?"

Kari stopped and looked into her boyfriend's eyes, swallowing back her anxiety before she nodded. "I do Seto, you know I do. I'm just scared…" Her voice trailed off as she embraced him, hiding her face into his chest to hold back her tears.

Seto was thankful they were behind closed doors, in his bedroom, so he wrapped his own arms around her tightly. If there was one thing he needed to fix, it was how scared she was. And he was going to do that by winning the duel.

"Something's wrong," Mokuba said suddenly, staring intently at the computer screen before them both. Kari straightened up beside him and looked as well. "Something's happening down there to Seto that my computer won't pick up." He was scared.

Kari stood, her eyes hardening. This wasn't happening to Seto. It just wasn't. "Stay here Mokuba, I'm going down there," she said, leaning down to kiss him on the cheek before heading for the exit.

Mokuba turned around in his seat to stop her. "Kari! Seto told you stay here."

"He needs me," she stated firmly before leaving the lab. She rushed up to the top of the blimp, finding herself standing right next to Yugi and his friends.

"Kari!" Yami in Yugi's body exclaimed. "What are you doing here?"

For once, she ignored him and she ran up to the railing that separated the dueling ring from the sidelines. "Seto! Are you okay?" she screamed and she watched as Seto snapped his head down from where he was staring at his cards to her.

"Kari! Go back inside!"

"No! Something's wrong. Mokuba can't pick it up on the computer!" she said in a high pitched voice, her eyes wondering around the area to find Marik smirking evilly on the other side of the dueling ring, staring directly at her. She felt bile rise to her throat. Oh god. He took out his millennium rod and pointed it directly at her.

Frozen to the spot, Kari felt her body become numb and she saw the worst of the worst behind her eyes. She vaguely heard the screaming of someone, barely felt the pressure of someone grabbing her, and then it all went black.

Yugi wasn't allowed in the medical room and he was shaking from anxiety. A hand on his shoulder barely even felt.

"Yugi?" Tea's sweet voice broke his worried thoughts. He blinked and looked up at her, seeing her face pulled into a mask of concern. "Do you know why Kaiba isn't letting us see her?"

Yugi's fists clenched at his sides and he lowered his eyes back to the closed and locked door that Kari was laying on the other side of, unconscious. His teeth gritted, but his tongue was flopping, wanting to tell Tea everything. But he didn't want to betray Kari by spilling her secrets. But it wasn't looking like it was going to be easy to keep quiet.

"Yugi?"

"No," he blurted, but it sounded forced and his shoulders slumped, his eyes lowering to the floor.

Tea rested her hand on his shoulder and instead of it making him feel better about the situation, it made it him feel worse. Huffing he pushed himself off the wall that he was leaning against and began walking down the hallway, opposite of Tea's direction.

"Yugi! Where are you going?"

"I need some air," Yugi excused himself and turned the corner, finding the storage closet that Kari had pulled him into the other day and locking himself inside. He slunk against the wall and slid down, his arms grabbing onto his neck as he felt tears prick at his eyes. "Why did it have to be Kari? And why is Seto Kaiba just a jerk?" he mumbled aloud.

Yami appeared from his puzzle and instead of looking up at him like usual, he ignored the presence. It wasn't until Yami kneeled in front of him, his hands placing themselves on Yugi's knees, that Yugi raised his eyes to meet crimson.

"Yugi, we must stay strong for Kari."

The confident voice of his partner did nothing to soothe him and Yami could see the frustration along with the love he had for Kari in his sad eyes. "Kaiba won't let me see her, he won't even tell me if she's okay!"

"She's all right, Yugi," Yami reassured him, pulling Yugi into his arms. The cool breeze that was Yami's arms felt good against his hot flesh and he let himself fall into the embrace.

"How do you know?" he sniffed, rubbing at his eyes over Yami's shoulder.

"I could feel the power from the millennium rod, it wasn't as powerful as it was when Mai was sent to the shadow realm," Yami explained, pulling away to look at Yugi in the eyes. Yugi's eyebrows rose and he stared back curiously. "Her mind is still intact. But when she wakes is how we will know what exactly Marik has done to her."

"One problem with that," Yugi muttered and Yami slid his hand up to his small shoulder. "Kaiba won't let us see her."


	5. Ghost

Crystal blue eyes fluttered open to view nothing but a gray ceiling above her. Kari fidgeted, realizing she was in a comfy bed. Kari blinked a couple of times before struggling to sit up.

"Thank god," whispered a voice beside Kari, who jumped and turned immediately towards the sound to see no one in the room with her. Freaking out, Kari's eyes widened and took another glance around the room. She really was alone in the room.

"How are you feeling?" Asked the voice and she wished she could figure out if she was imagining it or not. Still seeing no one, Kari frowned with confusion. "Kari?"

Oh god! It knew her name too! A scream threatened to leave her mouth and Kari scrambled out of bed as fast as she could. Running towards the door, Kari was trying to get out of the room as quickly as possible. Heavy footsteps, that sounded familiar but belonged to no one, followed her. Kari's heart jumped into her throat. Was the blimp haunted?

"Kari! Where are you -?" The voice began in a panicked tone but she cut if off by successfully unlocking the door and heading out into the hallway and short, fast legs.

Not knowing where to run, but wanting to get away from the voice that seemed to be following her down the length of the hallway, Kari shut herself inside a closet and shakily turned the lock on the door. Hopefully the theory of ghosts walking through walls was just a myth.

Knocking on the other side of the door indicated, it was a myth but that knowledge didn't stop her from panicking.

"Kari!" A familiar voice exclaimed from behind her and she spun too fast, falling against the door with her hand flying to her chest. Thankfully the owner of that voice also owned the cute face Kari could recognize anywhere.

However, he looked stunned to see her… and then there was the fact that he was also in a storage closet.

"Yugi! There's a ghost following me!" Kari squeaked, rushing to hide herself behind his small body.

Frowning in confusion, Yugi heard the voice on the other side of the door. It was voice they both should know well.

"I've no idea what you're talking about Kari, but if you're referring to Seto, who is about to knock the door down, then you're quite confused." Then a thought struck Yugi, he turned to stare into the terrified face of his friend and realized she was not joking about this. "Kari… can you hear Seto talking to you?"

"Who is Seto?" Kari asked in a shaky voice with her face scrunching in mild confusion, as if she didn't understand the question. Her eyes glanced briefly to the door that was still being pounded upon.

Yugi's eyes widened to the size of saucers, but he decided to turn and began unlocking the door. Kari was on him within a second, grabbing at his wrist to make him stop.

"NO! The ghost is s-still out there! I-it knows my name!" Kari wailed.

Eyeing her for a minute, Yugi bit the inside of his cheek and tried to speak soothingly,

"Um, well just go the back of the closet and I will see if I can get it to go away." Kari looked reluctant at first but did what Yugi asked of her.

"Be careful Yugi… it sounded angry." Kari squeaked before hiding herself as best she could beside the maintenance shelf.

Yugi kept silent, deciding instead to take a deep breath. Confronting Seto about this was going to be extremely difficult.

Opening the door to reveal a purple faced Seto Kaiba, Yugi recoiled as Seto's eyes snapped to him, filled with fury.

"Yugi!" Seto barked, grabbing the smaller boy by his shirt collar and pinning him against the wall, his eyes attempting to kill him through the force of his thoughts. Yugi tried to remain calm but it was hard. "What are you doing with Kari?"

Yugi's lips trembled, his face turned red, and yet he still cleared his throat long enough to stammer,

"S-seto, she… can't see you! Marik… h-he madeher forget you!"

"Lies!" Seto snarled and dropped Yugi to the ground, entering the closet to search for Kari. A scream echoed from inside and Yugi scrambled to his feet to follow Seto swiftly. Yugi grabbed his arm as Seto headed straight for Kari.

"No Seto! I'm serious!" He pleadingly shouted.

"Get off of me Muto! This has nothing to do with you!" Seto directed his attention to the small boy who was hanging from him like a child on monkey bars. Kari hadn't stopped screaming, the fact that she saw Yugi hanging on to nothing in particular was only making her fright worse.

Seto finally threw Yugi off of him and he fell to the ground as Seto advanced on Kari again. All she could hear was the advancing heavy footsteps, sending her heart pounding heavily and painfully in her chest. Never again, she thought with horror, never again will I go to a scary house or watch a scary movie!

"See for yourself then." Yugi suddenly conceded, finding his feet once more and walked over to Kari. She ran towards him, brushing against Seto without realizing or feeling it. Kari ran into Yugi's arms and hid her face into his neck, making Yugi warm instantly but held himself still. Seto needed to see this.

"Kari? Can you… see Seto in front of you?" Yugi coaxed, pulling her away from him so she could peek her. She threw her face back against his neck only a few seconds later.

"NO!" She screamed in his skin, making Yugi twitch with pain. Her high pitched voice was right in his ear.

Seto growled and stared at Kari, not like the fact that she was in Yugi's arms now and apparently frightened of him.

"Kari…" He tried in a clear voice but it only fueled her anxiety and she latched onto Yugi for dear life. Seto's heart fell, realizing what Yugi had explained to him was the truth; Kari couldn't see him, didn't remember him…"Kari…" Seto whispered painfully, not even worrying that Yugi was seeing him so vulnerable. "No!" Seto protested aloud, "This isn't real!" But he knew it was.

Yugi wrapped his arms around a shaking Kari. How come every time she was against his body, it was because she was in distress? He thought dismally.

"It is real Kaiba," he said, his own heart breaking for Seto, who was crumpling to his knees in front of them. He had never seen the young CEO behave this way. It made Yugi feel sorry for him, and guilty that he liked Kari in a way that he shouldn't. And he felt sorry for Kari; because she didn't remember that the love of her life existed.

Seto looked up once more at Kari, seeing how scared she was, how she didn't understand that it was him in front of her, didn't remember that he loved her. That he had taken her in a couple years ago during a thunderstorm after she had been beaten to a pulp by her father as her mother only watched. That he had taken care of her since then and that he had made sure she felt safe no matter what.

But she didn't feel safe anymore. And it was him that was making her feel this way.

He couldn't tolerate that.

"Y-yugi," Seto's voice cracked as het met the purple eyes of his rival, "as much as it kills me to ask this of you, keep her safe… until I can… fix this." And then he was on his feet, leaving Yugi to stare after him and Kari clutching tighter to the smaller boy as the footsteps faded until they were nonexistent.

Kari lifted her head after a minute of silence, tears in her eyes, and she peered around the closet.

"Is… is it gone?" She asked wearily, her throat aching from all the screaming.

Yugi was frozen to the spot after Seto had asked him of this, but Kari needed him. Pulling her away from him slightly, Yugi looked into her eyes.

"Yes. L-let's go." His voice was wobbly. He was going to do this for Seto, and he was going to do this for Kari. Her rock had been taken from her. She was in desperate need of a friend right now.

And he was going to be that friend.

Kari was looking through her deck box, picking out cards she wanted to use during her duels since she had yet to be chosen for the finals but wanting to be prepared. And she was secretly hoping that she would be chosen next. After Marik had sent Mai to the Shadow Realm, she was going to be ready for anything. She wasn't sure what brought out this new bout of confidence within her but Kari was going to use it to her full advantage to kick butt. However, she still felt as though she was missing something… and couldn't figure out what.

Kari was also quite thankful not to have run into the ghost again. She was sure it was going to give her nightmares for days.

A knock on her door pulled Kari from her thoughts, and she glanced up to see Yugi poking his head around the door. A bright grin spread across her face. Kari liked Yugi a lot, and he had been so brave going against that ghost for her. If not for him being there, Kari was sure she would have lost her sanity.

"How are you doing?" Yugi asked before shutting the door behind himself to walk to where Kari sat on her bed with dozens of cards spread before her.

"I'm fine," she chirped as Yugi tried not to wince at how happy she sounded. Kari shouldn't be so happy, he thought with a slight frown, "just going through my cards for my duel!"

Yugi sat beside her on the bed and looked thoughtfully down at the cards, voicing aloud his thoughts, "You expecting to be chosen next?"

"I hope!" Was Kari's reply, a huge smile radiating her excitement.

"Who do you think you'll be going against?" Yugi asked more as a way to distract himself from everything that was going on than anything else.

"Dunno!" Kari shrugged, "A part of me wishes it was Marik – just so I could send his ass to the Shadow Realm." A fierce flash went through Kari's eyes as Yugi looked up at her.

Suddenly things seemed to go awkward.

"Yeah… well who knows?" Yugi said, nervously chuckling as he rubbed the back of his neck. It was his go to action when he was uncomfortable.

Leaning back, Kari stretched against the headboard of her bed as she smiled. Yugi looked around, seeing her things scattered around as if she had been staying in her room this whole time. He guessed Seto must have staged this for her, so it would fit in with her memories. The thought made Yugi sad.

"Hey! Let's go get some pizza!" Kari randomly suggested, and earned a curious look from her friend. She laughed, "What? Don't like pizza?"

"Well… Yeah, but…" Yugi blushed darkly as he stammered.

"Well come on then!" She cried, scooping up all her cards into a pile and placing them in her duel box. She set the box caringly in the drawer of her nightstand and jumped off the bed. With a turn, she faced Yugi, who was sitting there looking baffled by her behavior. Kari rolled her eyes before reaching out and tugging on his hand. "Stop looking at me like I'm crazy," she pretended to sound miffed, "I'm hungry!"

Yugi forced himself to look happy, though inside he felt his heart fluttering at her touch. He couldn't lie; having her around was making him feel giddy… but the expense wasn't worth it.

"Well, let's have pizza then," he agreed. Yugi was pulled to his feet but a brightly grinning Kari, and tugged from the room without another thought or word uttered.

Yugi had trouble keeping his eyes off of Kari as the two sat across from each other down in the cafeteria. She was inexplicably happy, and he wondered if this was what she had been like before all the dark stuff happened in her life. Somehow, and he didn't feel right even thinking this, with Seto out of her head Kari seemed less stressed.

"Mhmm," Kari moaned as she chewed a slice of cheese pizza causing Yugi to blush as he noticed some pizza sauce on her cheek. He watched, waiting to see if she would notice, and when she didn't he cleared his throat a little uncomfortably.

"Uh, Kari? You got something –" Yugi broke off when he realized he was about to embarrass her. However Kari looked up and Yugi blushed again before gesturing to his cheek, stuttering, "You have pizza sauce…"

Kari giggles as she set her slice of pizza down and wiped at her cheek, which wasn't even the right side. She looked up at him afterwards and asked him hopefully, "Did I get it?"

Yugi gritted his teeth and dived right in to say, "Uh, actually no…" and trailed off as he decided to lean forward over the table with a napkin and gently whipped the tomato sauce from Kari's cheek, thankful it came off smoothly, but he still blushed throughout the action. He mentally cursed himself for being so shy. If he was anyone else he would have been able to do something like this so easily.

Catching the happy sparkle in Kari's eyes Yugi lost his train of thought and the ability to move. He swallowed harshly and felt as he lost all sense of his surroundings within her eyes until Kari suddenly giggles and broke the moment. He once more cleared his throat and hastily snatched back his hand but Kari caught it, catching him off guard. And then she… she really did, she kissed his palm with her soft lips and sent Yugi's heart and hormones into chaos.

Kari looked up at him with a playful smile.

"Thanks Yugi, I'd have looked like a goof walking around with pizza sauce on my face." She gave another giggle and gave Yugi his hand back. He numbly retook his seat and averted his eyes with his ever present and darkening blush. Oh god, she had more of an effect on him than he had originally thought. His appetite gone, Yugi choked out a,

"You're welcome," before pretending to stare off into space over her shoulder. Kari didn't seem to notice as she eagerly went back to eating though.

After a few minutes, the tension coming from Yugi's side of the table was broken when a loud, booming, voice filled the cafeteria.

"HA! Tola ya there was still more of that pizza from last night! And Tristan said that I ate it all! Pah-lease!" Joey's unmistakably familiar voice came from across the room and the blonde boy rushed over to the buffet to fill his place. Tristan, Tea, Serenity, and Duke were all close behind with the girls shaking their heads in annoyance while Tristan and Duke simultaneously rolled their eyes. However their stomachs won them over as they too quickly filled their plates, following Joey's example.

"Yugi!" Joey called after spinning around to see him and Kari at the table and ran over to join the duo with his overly full plate, slipping into a spot beside Yugi. "Hey Kari! I was so worried for ya! I thought you were a goner and then when Kaiba wouldn't let us see ya it was suspici-" Yugi slapped his hand over Joey's mouth with a glare before he could say anything more and the rest of the gang appeared around the table.

"What did I tell you about the K-word?" Yugi hissed to Joey, who was struggling to get his smaller friend off of him. Joey suddenly licked his hand, making Yugi grimace and involuntarily yanking his palm away. He rubbed it on his pant leg.

"I got it, I got it." Joey consented as he looked back and Kari and filled his mouth. Yugi sat back awkwardly before he too glanced up at Kari, hoping that he hadn't given away too much. "So! Ya feeling better?" Joey tried around a mouthful of food.

Kari tilted her head and gave Joey a peculiar look. Yugi held his breath.

"I'm not sure I understand," Kari began honestly, "I've been asked that many times and I haven't given it much thought until now… Did something happen to me that I don't know about?"

Everyone exchanged glances with worried expressions, not reassuring Kari at all. Yugi figured he might as well speak up, since he didn't think anyone else would be capable of explaining it properly.

"You were knocked somehow knocked out during the last duel, so we've all been worried you know?"

Everyone was relived as Kari's expression brightened.

"Oh, well that's understandable. I'm fine! Thanks for caring Joey!" Kari cheerfully announced and sent a wink in Joey's direction, which sent Yugi's blood to boiling and Joey's cheeks to reddening as his eyes widened slightly.

Getting attention from girls was definitely not common with these boys… excluding Duke Devlin of course. And he seemed to be jealous purely because a pretty girl wasn't giving him attention.

"So how are you all doing? I'm not sure why we haven't hung out before." Kari grinned before taking another bite of her pizza, careful to wipe at her cheeks just in case of more pizza sauce. Yugi smiled.

"Me neither!" Tae was the first to speak up with a smile of her own after she swallowed a small slice of fruit. "Yugi has told us only a little bit about you."

"Yeah, he really admires you!" Tristan blurted.

"Thinks you're smart too!" Joey added.

"And a great duelist," Serenity couldn't help but pipe in.

"He didn't tell us how pretty you were though," Duke smoothly cut in, adding more to the dark blush on Yugi's face as he wished they would all just shut up. Had he really said all of those about her too his friends, Yugi wondered. His feelings must be pretty obvious by now.

Kari looked over at him and noted the blush on his face before giggling and reaching over to grab his hand.

"That's very sweet of you Yugi," she said and made him squirm, in turn making her smile wider. He was so cute.

Joey smirked as everyone else laughed under their breaths. Yugi had it bad for Kari. If only they realized how complicated it was going to be between them. If only Kari knew that… she had always been a touchy-feely girl to begin with but now that she didn't remember that she had a boyfriend… it seemed to be even more pronounced.

"I'm glad you two worked out your differences." Joey said to Yugi and Kari, who looked at him curiously.

"Differences?"

Joey quirked an eyebrow as he hintingly asked, "Yeah, ya know about what ya said yesterday? About how you and Yugi were 'complicated'?"

Kari apparently didn't remember and Yugi shifted uncomfortably in her grasp.

"Uh yeah, well I think it's time to go, um, be somewhere else. Come on Kari! See you later guys!" Yugi spoke awkwardly fast and tugged Kari up by their still joined hands and pulled her away.

"But Yugi-" she protested as she looked back over her shoulder to see that rest of their friends watching them leaved, various baffled expressions displayed.

Seto Kaiba sat in his lab, fingers entangled together in front of his lips, as he stared at the computer screen. His eyes burned from crying and his heart felt unbearably tight. His cobalt eyes watched as Yugi tugged Kari out of the cafeteria and down the many hallways and stairs towards his bedroom. Seto was angry and hurt that he had to watch his rival with the most important person in his life. He swallowed tightly and put his hand on the mouse before clicking out of the camera screen harshly with a glare. His recent research appeared back on the home screen and he stared at it numbly. He was going to get her back. He had to. And Marik…he was going to pay.

"Seto?" A small voice spoke from behind him and Seto didn't have to look away from the screen to know who it was.

"What do you want Mokuba?" he asked stiffly. Little footsteps moved forward until his younger brother stood beside him, looking up at the screen curiously. Seto had yet to inform Mokuba about Kari's situation, but he knew that there would be questions when Kari and Mokuba saw each other.

Mokuba though was disturbed by his brother's tone and he shuddered slightly.

"Something's going on in the dueling ring and the doors won't open to show me what it is."

The older Kaiba brother moved quickly without feeling, returning to the camera screen to see a dark purple fog taking up most of the dueling ring box. His heart speeding up, Seto knew exactly what was going on but he needed to know who it was.

Checking the other cameras to see who was missing in action, he felt his heart jump with anticipation as Marik wasn't anywhere to be found, and neither was that weakling Bakura. What had fueled this was a mystery to him, but one thing was for certain; whatever it was, it was being settled through a shadow game.


	6. Getting Closer

Yugi ran a hand through his damp locks and glanced at himself in the mirror, as per habit when you were in a bathroom, and adjusted the fluffy towel around his waist. It had been a long day and he was thankful it had ended. Despite being around Kari for longer than he had ever been, he was stressed and he wished that all of this nonsense would stop. He wished Mai would have her soul back, wished Bakura didn't have an evil spirit inside of him, wished that Marik wasn't so evil, and most importantly, wished that Kari had her memories back. It was extremely hard for him to see her so happy with Seto. He couldn't get the image of Seto on his knees practically pouring his heart out to him in the closet, wishing that it wasn't true. So yes, just because Yugi had gotten what he wanted, he wasn't happy about it.

Yugi grabbed a hold of the door knob, but was caught by the wrist by a cool hand. His face lit up when he turned around to see Yami staring at him and was surprised to see a small blush upon the pharaoh's cheeks as well. "Uh…Yami? Is there something wrong?" he asked, his eyes downcast wishing this intrusion hadn't happened while he was practically naked.

Yami cleared his throat, trying to advert his eyes from his partner's bare chest. "I, um, well I wanted to speak with you about Kari…" he sounded incredibly uncomfortable and Yugi wondered why he had to talk to him about Kari right now.

"Well, can I get dressed first?" Yugi mumbled. For some reason he felt very exposed in front of his spirit partner.

"It can't wait Yugi," Yami admitted, biting the inside of his cheek when Yugi finally caught his eyes. "Kari is hanging around and I don't want to disturb what's going on but I must warn you."

That had Yugi's full attention and he perked up, shyness no longer thought about. "Warn me? About what?"

Yami's eyes narrowed with thought. "She doesn't remember Kaiba and I feel like, she might…over step some boundaries. I want you to be mindful of that fact, Yugi. And despite that, Kaiba still has cameras around the blimp and he can see absolutely everything that's going on."

Yugi blushed but nodded with the reminder. "She might not remember Seto, but Seto definitely remembers her."

Yami nodded. "Yes, and he wouldn't hesitate if you and her were to give in to these feelings you have for…one another," he said stiffly but Yugi didn't notice the discomfort in his partner's voice.

"Uh, I dunno what you're talking about Yami," Yugi tried to deny, but then he gave up. Yami wasn't ignorant and he could feel exactly what Yugi felt. He was sure it was super obvious. His shoulders slumped, "Okay, um I get it."

Yami nodded but wasn't completely convinced. He wasn't sure that is little one would be able to stop something happening between himself and Kari. The girl had an effect on Yugi like no one else. Including himself, unfortunately. "All right, I'll leave you to it then." And then he disappeared, a frown evident on his face.

Yugi sighed and exited the bathroom. Heading for the dresser that held his clothing, he didn't notice the small figure sitting on his bed waiting on his behalf. It wasn't until he had dropped his towel that he heard a squeak from behind him. He looked over his shoulder in horror to see Kari sitting cross legged on his bed her hands slapping over her eyes. Whole body heating up in embarrassment Yugi scrambled to pick the towel back up, thankful that he had been turned around so she couldn't see his front side.

"KARI!" he screamed with fright, and to add to his embarrassment she giggled. Her sense of humor was so odd. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN HERE?" He had seen her off to bed in her own room minutes ago before he took his shower after they had spent the rest of the afternoon playing their own game of traditional duel monsters without the fancy stuff that Kaiba Corp had made.

"I…" giggle. "Couldn't sleep."

Yugi was mortified and he made sure she still had her eyes covered up so he could get dressed into his pajamas really quickly. Faster than he had thought possible. She continued to giggle uncontrollably the whole time and he groaned, face still red, as he approached her on the bed. He took her hands and pried them from her eyes, a stupid grin on her face as she caught his eyes.

Her smile softened at his deep blush and she reached up to caress a reddened cheek. It just made the color worse. Trying not to lose control over himself, he gently brushed her away, thankful that he hadn't made her upset by rejecting the touch. He needed to be in control here. And that was hard for him. Obviously.

"Why couldn't you sleep?" he voiced, his voice high from his embarrassment.

Kari sighed, smile leaving her face. "Well I did fall asleep. But I kept having these dreams about this man…dark hair, blue eyes…he was chasing me. I didn't know who he was and it scared me. It woke me up and I couldn't fall back asleep after that. So I decided to come see you," she said, brightening back up afterwards.

Yugi's heart dropped to his stomach at the mention of her dream. She was dreaming about Kaiba, he swallowed nervously. But he couldn't very well tell her that. Or maybe he could…wasn't that how Mai had gained her memory of Joey back? For that split second that she was conscious?

Against his hormones, he decided to break it to her gently. "Kari…I want to tell you who Seto Kaiba is."

Kari made a face. "Kaiba? Does it have anything to do with Kaiba Corp?"

Yugi made a mental note: she knew what Kaiba Corp was. Strange. "Kinda," he answered. "He is the CEO of the company. He also started up this tournament."

Kari blew air into her cheeks while she thought and looked upwards. Yugi watched her carefully. She didn't seem worried at all by this conversation. Hmm…she suddenly huffed the air from her cheeks. "Well I knew that Kaiba Corp had started it, but I didn't know it was a certain someone. What about him?"

Yugi bit his lip. "Well….you know him. But…since you got knocked out at the duel today, you've seemed to have forgotten him completely," he explained wearily.

Kari then became serious and she stared at him for a long while by not saying anything. Yugi felt his face warm up at her intense gaze. "That doesn't make sense Yugi. I don't know anyone who works for Kaiba Corp."

Yugi frowned deeply before wondering something. "Not even Mokuba?"

A strange glint appeared in her eyes and it gave him hope. But then she dismissed it by looking down. "It sounds familiar but no, I don't know him either."

Yugi tried not to groan with frustration. Why wasn't it working? He wished he could show her a picture or something! But he knew she wouldn't be able to see it anyways. Seto had been erased from her memory, image and all.

"Can I sleep with you?" her small voice suddenly asked, and he snapped his eyes up to hers with surprise.

"Uh…" he blushed, wishing he could hide his face by that point. He looked around the walls, still wondering where the camera was that Seto had placed in there to spy on him. When he still couldn't find it, he looked back at the pleading eyes of Kari and he knew his mind was made up. In all honesty, his mind had been made up the first moment he saw her.

Swallowing nervously, Yugi looked down with thought. This wasn't a good thing. Seto would kill him. Yami would be disappointed. But Kari would be happy…and so would he.

"Please? I won't disturb you at all! I'll sleep on this side of the bed and you won't even know I'm here," She said, trying to win the situation and Yugi blushed darkly.

"Trust me, I'll know," he muttered but realized he said it aloud and he caught Kari smiling brightly up at him. Why did she have to be so darn happy around him? She should be miserable without Seto Kaiba. This was making things difficult to keep his feelings to himself.

Scratching the back of his neck, he sighed. "Okay, but just for tonight okay?" he finally relented before she threw herself at him. Arms around his neck and her face against his neck, he froze up stiffly.

"Thank you Yugi!" she squealed but he didn't pay any attention to the pain in his ear this time. His eyes were up in the corners of his room, hoping to god that Seto Kaiba wasn't watching the cameras tonight.

The next morning Kari woke up pressed up against something very warm. She shivered and snuggled closer to the warmth, realizing the blankets had fallen off of her somehow. Her crystal blue eyes fluttered open and then it dawned on her. She had slept with Yugi last night. A smile spreading across her face, she gently lifted her head to see him still asleep. She couldn't help herself, she grinned from giddiness. She didn't know when it had happened, but she had the biggest crush on him. He was so sweet, smart, and was a wonderful friend. And she even had a suspicion that he liked her as well. It was only a matter of time for them, she knew that for a fact.

He looked so peaceful when he was sleeping, she thought. His cute lips were parted just slightly, blowing his breath softly against her cheeks. His spiky hair was mussed up from sleeping and his nightshirt had unbuttoned during his slumber, exposing the top of his chest. She looked down at his chest with interest, watching him breathe, but more focusing on the small chest hairs that hinted that he did have some body hair, but only slight.

Not being able to help herself, she pressed her lips up against his cheek. His skin felt heavenly underneath her lips and she wished she could continue to kiss him all over. But she'd prefer him to be awake for all of that.

Yugi's violet eyes slowly opened to look into the depths of icy blue and his heart immediately sped up. Oh yeah, Kari slept with me last night. She looked very cute with bed hair he thought, wishing she'd lean closer to him so he could kiss her. Just when he was leaning into her and she seemed to be encouraging it, it dawned on him. I SLEPT WITH KARI LAST NIGHT!

Panicking, he threw the covers off of himself and ran to his dresser to get dressed. "Oh god! I'm in so much trouble!" he exclaimed while throwing clothes around, leaving Kari to watch from the bed with extreme confusion, mouth agape. This definitely wasn't how she had planned waking up with the boy she had feelings with to go…

Rushing into the bathroom before Kari had even so much as moved up into a sitting position, Yugi then emerged out of the bathroom fully dressed in his black tank top and blue school pants, donned with his black buckle collar, and of course his puzzle around his neck hanging from a chain. He threw on his sneakers over the top of his shoes in a not so graceful scramble through the room and pulled open the door as Kari was getting out of bed.

Yugi stopped abruptly at the cobalt eyes of Seto Kaiba. He should have known. However, the death giving glare that he was used to was not on his face and that took Yugi aback. The poor guy looked like he hadn't slept in two days and his hair was disheveled. He looked to have attempted to dress properly, but Yugi didn't think he realized his shirt was on backwards. Thankfully he wore his trench coat because he was sure Seto wouldn't want Yugi to point that detail out to him. His eyes were puffy from either crying or lack of sleep, or both, and he had stubble growing around his cracked lips.

Yugi's heart melted and all thoughts of getting closer to Kari had gone swiftly out the window. "I..Seto, I can explain…?" Yugi tried at first but Seto threw his hand up, his arms crossing over his chest as he leaned up against the opposite wall.

"You don't need to," he bit off, which had Yugi's eyebrows shooting up with surprise. "I…saw Kari while she was sleeping…..I couldn't help it….I saw her having a nightmare….about me…she said my name…." he was obviously having a hard time explaining himself to Yugi, and his eyes kept casting around with anxiety as if he was telling Yugi something he shouldn't. "So I left her and when I saw her wake up and head to your room, looking so….happy….I, didn't want to ruin that." But then that spark of rage boiled up and he glared deeply into Yugi's eyes with meaning. "But don't you dare take advantage of that! Kari is still mine and I'm going to get her memory back," he vowed.

Yugi's hands went up with denial. "I would never—"

"I see the way you look at her Muto. It's written all over your face right now," Seto snarled, making Yugi's cheeks light up with shame. It's that obvious?! Not good.

"Yugi? Who are you talking to?" Kari's small voice had both the boys stopping and looking into the room to see Kari approaching.

If Yugi had turned around at that point, he would have seen the pain written over Seto's features at her not remembering him. Realizing that he didn't want a repeat from yesterday and he still had lots to do, considering the next duel would be announced in a few minutes, he backed away. "You heard me Yugi. Keep your hands to yourself. Otherwise I won't be so nice."

Yugi turned behind him quickly to Seto exiting the hallway, his trenchcoat billowing behind him. Kari's hand on his chest made his heart quicken and his body recoil at the same time. "Who was that?" she tried again and Yugi scrambled to make sense of everything.

"I…Tristan. He's having a hard time. Come on Kari, you should go get dressed. The next duel is going to be announced soon," Yugi changed the subject quickly and he was relieved to see Kari's eyes light up at the mention of the duel.

"Ooh yeah!" she said with delight. "Okay, I'll see you down in the auditorium then?"

Yugi nodded as she got closer to him, losing his ability to speak. Be strong Yugi. But as she got closer, and he could smell her breath, it got more difficult to hold back. Instead of kissing his lips, like he had halfheartedly wanted her to, she pressed them to his cheek again and smiled widely before pushing past him to get out of the room.

When he was alone, he grabbed his head with frustration and unexpectedly kicked the under box spring of his bed. Regretting it, he grabbed his foot and fell to the ground with gritted teeth. Why was liking a girl so difficult? And why in the hell did the girl he liked have to be so great but so incredibly connected to Seto Kaiba? Would life ever be generous to him?

"Yugi…"

The low baritone voice of his partner made Yugi's shoulders slump with guilt. "I know…I shouldn't have let her sleep in my bed. But I couldn't help it Yami! She was pleading with me and it's hard to say no as it is—"

Yami knelt down to his little on who was still on the floor, clutching his foot, and placed a hand on his shoulder. "That's not what I was going to say," Yami quickly interrupted with a half-smile. Yugi looked up at him with wide amethyst eyes.

"You weren't?" he asked curiously.

Yami shook his head before going against all better judgment and kissing Yugi upon the forehead. His counterpart's cheeks went three different colors of red and his eyes caught crimson with confusion and interest. Yami tried to hold back the growing smile. "I was just going to tell you to be more careful," he said tenderly, moving his hand down to Yugi's foot, making the small boy follow the hand.

His pharaoh was acting different today….he thought quickly before looking back up at Yami. "I'm sorry," he let slip. "I shouldn't have let Kari get the best of me. My…feelings for her are hard to control when she's around. It's difficult to remember that she has a boyfriend that she doesn't remember."

Yami frowned, his hand retreating from Yugi's foot. Yugi let out a sigh, haven not realized that since Yami had placed his hand on him, all breathing had temporarily stopped. Must be the stress. "I understand," Yami forced into an understanding tone. "But you must be more careful. Seto only let you off the hook this morning because of what he had seen last night. He's having a very hard time with all of this. Not only does he have a lot on his plate, but his girlfriend has lost her memory of him during a duel that shouldn't have had shadow magic. It's making him rethink what he believes in."

Yugi looked down and nodded. He was being selfish, wasn't he?

Yami chuckled. Yugi seemed to not realize he said that aloud. "Oh Yugi, selfish is one thing you are definitely not," he reassured.

Kari was pumped and she was bouncing from foot to foot, standing on one side of the duel ring with her duel disk properly fastened to her arm. Being the odd one out, she disputed against ties, so she would be dueling against one of the duelists who had already won. Unfortunately, that meant that she would be going against Mr. Joey Wheeler. But that didn't stop the excitement rushing through her veins. She absolutely loved to duel and she didn't come all this way to get nowhere in the finals.

If only Mai could see this, Kari wished inwardly before Joey took his own stance across from her. His lips curved upwards into a lopsided smile at her and she grinned in return. This was what they all needed. Something to distract them all from the incoming doom that had been looming over them since the beginning. A nice competition was definitely warranted.

"Ready to get beaten like the loser you are?" she playfully taunted and Joey's eyebrows rose up at her words.

"Los'a? I think you got it all wrong blondie. I've already won in this tournament. Ya just a pretty face," Joey teased and Kari gaped, but knew that he was playing.

"Pretty face?! I'll show you pretty face!" she said, hearing the laughs coming from the sidelines.

"Honestly Yug, whatcha see in her?" Joey winked over at Yugi who blushed crimson but still held a smile on his face.

Kari blushed as well but looked way happier that she wasn't just imagining the chemistry between them. Perhaps once she proved herself, she'd be even more in the good graces of Yugi Muto. She beamed with the hope.

"Okay, duelists. We are in the preliminary finals, where each of the 4 finalists who have won the semi-finals, will be dueling miss Kari Tsubaki. Each duelist who wins against her will be going on to the final round. Duelists, please begin," the official spoke from the side and Kari and Joey locked eyes, both of them smirking.

The group of friends weren't sure who to cheer on, so they mixed in cheers for both. Yugi went quiet unexpectedly as he saw Seto Kaiba standing alongside his brother on the other side of the dueling ring, staring intently at Kari with longing and expectancy. Yugi wondered if this had been planned all along. Had he wanted Kari to be the "tie breaker" as they called it? And then there was the shuddering idea of Marik having to duel Kari. Surely Seto had thought of that?

And hopefully by the time she has to duel Seto himself, she'd have her memory back…or there could always be a worse scenario. She could be with Mai in the shadow realm.


	7. Blue Eyes White Dragon

Kari was laughing uncontrollably as she hung onto the taller blond's neck, his hands holding her legs up around his waist. Yugi walked beside his friends, a grin evident on his face as well. His best friend had won against Kari, both using their best cards. It had been intense but it had been all in good fun. Kari had definitely given Joey a run for his money.

"Ahaha! Victorious once again!" Joey said while spinning Kari around in the hallway, making her laugh more.

"You did great Joey!" his sister Serenity cheered from the other side, standing back between Duke and Tristan so she wouldn't get hit by either of the goofy duelists.

"I don't think I've ever enjoyed losing this much before!" Kari chirped, her head lolling to Joey's shoulder from all the spinning, her eyes unfocused.

"That's cause ya went against Joey Wheela! Best duelist in this tournament…well 'cept Yug!"

Kari swatted him upside the head. "You're a lump Joey!" she laughed before jumping off his back. Joey spun around and poked her in the side.

"Me? You're the one who lost!"

"I let you win," Kari teased, making Yugi chuckle at them. He was very happy that she got along so well with his friends. It was like she belonged in their group. Her light made everyone else just as lighthearted.

Joey scrunched his face up. "Did not! I won fair and square!" he protested, not sure if she was speaking the truth or not.

Kari stuck her tongue out and skipped past him. She suddenly ran into an invisible force and fell backwards onto her bum. Looking up to see what she ran into, she saw that it was nothing and she immediately became confused.

The others however, could see exactly what –or who—she ran into. And he didn't look happy. His eyes narrowed as he lifted them from Kari to the others.

"Well congratulations, Wheeler. Although I'm sure if Kari was feeling more like herself, you wouldn't have stood a chance," Seto taunted and Yugi looked over to Kari who was struggling to stand up without panicking. The whispered voice was back…

Joey's face puffed up with anger, turning red across his cheeks. "Kari's feelin' just fine Kaiba! And I won against her fairly! You're just mad I've made it this far!"

Seto quirked an eyebrow, glancing down at Yugi. It was obvious he was surprised to hear that Yugi hadn't told his friends about Kari's condition or their relationship for that matter. So Yugi could be trusted with such information.

"You sure about that Mutt? She could have just let you win," he muttered.

Kari was now on her feet and Yugi was freaking out. Her hands were shaking and she rose them up in front of her, eyes wide with saucers. "K-kaiba?" she asked uncertainly, taken them all of guard –especially Seto. He stood rigid where he was, his eyes staring down at her with an expressionless mask.

Yugi took a step towards her, wanting to take her hand and pull her away but he was too curious to see what she'd do.

Kari felt ten times worse than she looked on the outside. She was having a panic attack, but she was confused and wanting answers. Why was this ghost like figure talking about her, why was her friends communicating with it, what did he have to do with Kaiba, and why couldn't she see them? Heart beating hard in her chest, she moved her fingers forwards and collided with a warm solid wall that felt a lot like muscle. Although she couldn't see anything, she was intrigued and she slid her hands up to reach what felt like shoulders. So it was a person!

"Why can't I see you?" she asked softly, eyebrows furrowing with concern over her sanity or health.

Seto's own heart was pounding hard within himself, and he stared down at her, feeling her hands feel his chest to his shoulders –sending sparks through his body. Oh gods how he wanted to pull her into his arms and tell her he loved her. To take her back to their room and make love to her. To make sure she knew that she was his and he was in every way hers.

Yugi's breath hitched. What he felt was not relief in the fact that Kari was facing this fear and figuring things out for herself. So what did he feel? If he could honestly admit it to himself, it'd most likely would be disappointment. This was the second step in Kari remembering Seto Kaiba. The first had been telling her about him. She was a smart girl, she'd figure it out. Like she was right now.

Seto's hands rose to her arms and she stiffened at the unseen contact, but she didn't remove herself. Seto stared into her eyes, knowing that she couldn't stare back. She was scared and uncertain. Seto didn't know what to say to her to answer her questions. The truth? If he told her that then he would be admitting to everyone that he believed in this rubbish of shadow magic. Yes, he believed in it to a point but he didn't know about it completely. He didn't want to misinform her.

Eyes sliding up to Yugi who was looking as if he wanted to snatch her back, he tried to get a grip on himself and made himself step away from Kari. Soon, my love.

Seto left the hallway before he could see anyone's reaction, mostly Kari's because he knew he'd take her and never let her out until she could see him. But he knew that wasn't the right thing to do.

"Kari?" Tea asked, stepping forward as everyone was silent and confused. "You couldn't see Kaiba?"

Kari was staring at the spot that Kaiba had been standing and she reached forwards, expecting to feel that warm body again, but didn't. Had he left? She spun around to look at her friends and caught Yugi's eyes.

"No," she said with a shake of her head. "Does this have something to do with what happened during that duel?"

Yugi shifted uncomfortably as everyone's eyes turned to him. "Yugi? What is it that we don't know?" Tristan asked as they all surrounded him and he felt like an inch tall, despite his smaller stature to begin with.

"Uh…"

"Yugi," Kari said softly as she stepped beside him, taking his hand and giving it a squeeze.

Their eyes locked and he saw the pleading beneath the icy blue irises. He sighed. "Kari…Marik used his millennium rod to take the memory of Seto Kaiba away from you during Kaiba's duel against Marik's sister."

Kari frowned as the others gasped with horror. Joey's eyes pained over, knowing exactly how it felt to be in this situation. His hand clasped onto Kari's shoulder to comfort her. "But I don't understand," she said through narrowed eyes. "Why would Marik take the memory of Kaiba away from me?"

"To hurt us, but in particular you. He's after all of us, so he saw that you had come in to interfere in Kaiba's duel and took the opportunity to screw with our heads," Yugi explained, wishing he didn't have to be the one to explain this to her. She looked so distressed about it.

"He did the same thing with Mai," Joey muttered and Tea frowned.

"But that was understandable. You guys are friends…why would Marik want to take the memory of Kaiba away from Kari? They don't even know each other," she said slowly, voicing her confusion.

Yugi shrunk farther into himself. He didn't want to spill Kari's secrets without her consent. And she didn't even know about the secrets….but….would it help her remember? If he told her what Seto meant to her, would it help?

Yugi took Kari's hands into his and looked her square in the eyes, taking her off guard. "I'm sorry Kari," he mumbled and she frowned. "The reason that Marik took Seto away from you, is because you two are—"

"The next duel will be announced in two minutes! Please return to the dueling ring immediately," the intercom announced, cutting everything off.

They all looked up at the speaker on the ceiling with strange looks. "That's strange," Kari spoke first. "Shouldn't we wait till tomorrow for the next duel?"

Yugi glanced down the hallway. "Kaiba is wanting to speed things up."

Kari threw her hair up into a ponytail as she stood on her side of the duel ring, struggling to do it correctly with her duel disk attached to her arm. Taking a deep breath, she glanced around the area, wondering which duelist she was going to be facing. She narrowed her eyes at Marik who was smirking widely at her from his stance on the sidelines. He had taken her memories, she thought with distaste. And he didn't even care. What more damage would he do?

"Kari Tsubaki will now be facing Seto Kaiba in the preliminaries to see if Mr. Kaiba continues on to the finals," the official announced to everyone and Yugi froze up while Kari frowned. How was she supposed to duel someone she couldn't even see?

"Objection!" she called, her hand going up as if she was in school or something. The official arched his eyebrows upwards as Seto entered the dueling ring, staring at her for her answer –unbeknownst to her of course.

"What?"

"How am I supposed to duel this person? I can't see him!"

The official looked to his boss with confusion, not understanding until Kaiba stuck his hand out for him to not question. "Tell her that she doesn't need to see me to duel me. She can see the holograms just fine," Seto told him, and the official nodded once before relaying the message to Kari.

She frowned and looked from where Seto was apparently standing to Yugi who was biting his lip incessantly. "Yugi?" she asked with uncertainty. She still wasn't sure about all of this. Yugi's eyes snapped over to her when she called his name and he took a step forwards to speak with her.

"It'll be okay," he told her, patting her hand as she was leaning over the railing. "Just do your best, okay? Maybe it'll jog some of your memory of him."

Seto crossed his arms the best he could while he wore his duel disk, giving them a flat stare. "That's the idea, now let's get on with it," he forced before Yugi nodded to Kari.

"Go on," he murmured and Kari stared at him for a couple minutes time, not knowing how this was going to end. Marik was standing right there, her eyes flashed to him wearily. Would he try to take away more of her memories? Licking her lips once, she leaned down and pressed a fast kiss on Yugi's lips –catching him off guard—before she spun around with forced up confidence.

Yugi was frozen to the spot and Joey, Tristan, and Duke were all catcalling from behind him. Tea blushed and looked down, never really thinking that anything would have come from Kari and Yugi's friendship. But it was Seto that was the most stunned. His cobalt eyes burned into Yugi's amethyst ones, and Yugi's bright red face looked at him in horror. That had not been how he had expected his first kiss to go. Especially in front of the girl's boyfriend.

There was nothing uttered about it because the duel had to start. Kari stared down at her duel disk, feeling odd staring at an invisible opponent. Seto silently moved his eyes from Yugi to Kari, who didn't seem at all bothered by the fact that she had just kissed Yugi Muto. He had had a suspicion that she had grown feelings for Yugi and had been jealous of that fact of course, but he hadn't ever thought that she would act upon them. But he had to remind himself, she didn't remember him….if she did, would she have stilled kissed him? Seto hoped with all of his might that she wouldn't have.

"Ladies first," Seto nodded ahead and Kari looked to the official for the go.

"Kari will begin the duel," the official spoke, before taking a step backwards to let them start.

Kari took a deep breath and drew her 5 cards, along with her 1st draw of the duel. 3 magic cards, 2 traps, and 1 monster. She sighed before placing her monster card on the field.

"I place Atlantean Heavy Infantry in defense mode, and place 2 cards face down, before ending my turn," she announced, seeing her monster and cards appear in front of her. She held her breath and awaited her opponent's move.

Seto drew as he stared at her cards before grabbing his own monster. "I play Battle Ox in attack mode, and place one card face down. Battle Ox, attack her Atlantean Heavy Infantry!"

Kari threw up one of her trap cards, her heart pounding in her ears. "Poseidon Wave Activate!"

Seto smirked and crossed his arms. "Very good love," he muttered. His attack had been negated however because she didn't have another water type monster on the field, his life points were still intact.

Kari blew her breath out, hearing her friends cheer from the sidelines. She needed to get herself under control. She drew. Yes!

"I play Atlantean Attack Squad, raising my attack by 800 because of my other water type on the field, bringing it up to 2200. It's in attack mode, so attack Atlantean Attack Squad!"

"Uh, uh, uh," Seto wagged his finger, activating his face down trap card. "Command Silencer negates your attack and I get to draw a card."

Kari stomped her foot when she saw that he had played a trap card. Seto smirked as he drew. It was his turn as well, so he drew another card.

The duel went on, Kari getting more into it and it getting easier to deal with her invisible opponent. She was getting her butt handed to her. Seto Kaiba was really good at dueling, she thought, sweat upon her brow as she felt another one of her monsters be destroyed, reducing her life points to 1000. She needed to get a grip.

Looking down at the two cards in her hand, she blew out her breath.

"Keep going Kari! You're doing great!" she heard voices from beside her but she didn't look at them. Seto Kaiba was taking over her brain and she didn't even fully understand who he was. Chewing on her bottom lip, she looked over at his side of the field, seeing an either magic or trap card face down along with 3 monsters in attack mode. She was going to lose the duel next turn if she didn't figure something out quick.

She drew. Kaiser Sea Horse. It allowed her to use it as 2 tributes…which let her play her Gaurdian Angel Joan. It wasn't as powerful as 2 of his monsters, but she could destroy at least one of them, letting her gain life points equal to that destroyed monsters attack points. It would buy her some time.

Taking a deep breath she placed her card on the field, watching as it appeared before her. Seto's eyebrows rose, knowing what card that was and looked at her face for a reaction. He had given her that card a few months ago and she had absolutely fallen in love with it. She had thanked him in a rather…intimate way….with her being on top. It had been pretty amazing sex. Heart tightening he wished she would remember it by playing it. Perhaps she was too focused on the duel.

"I'll use it's effect to tribute, so I can play my Gaurdian Angel Joan in attack mode. Attack his Vorse Raider!"

Seto watched as his monster was destroyed, not even blinking an eye. It knocked his life points from 2400 to 1500. She looked up into his face, not knowing she was doing so, and his face got red. He about to win the duel, but he had to do one more thing first…

"I'm tributing my two remaining monsters to bring out my Blue Eyes White Dragon!"

Kari's whole body froze and she stared at the dragon before her as her mind began to spin. She had seen that monster before…many, many times…hadn't she? A flash of dark hair and blue eyes went before her eyelids and she took a step backwards. It was the same man she had seen in her dreams. Had that man used this monster before? And was the man Seto?

Seto stared at her reaction, heart pumping through his body with anticipation and hope. This just had to work. Yugi and his friends were leaning against the railings with wide eyes, looking on and wondering what was going to happen next. Yugi's knuckles tightened around the railing as Joey bit his lip.

"Go on Kari! Ya got this!" the blond chirped with hope, but they all knew that it wasn't going anywhere. Kari had one monster of the field and had one card in her hand. It didn't look good.

"Kari?" Seto called over to her, her eyes going blank as she looked at Blue Eyes. "Kari!"

Kari heard the voice, the oh so familiar voice. But who did it belong to? It made her body produce goose bumps and ran a shudder down her spine, but not in a frightened way. She blinked, making out a silvery form in front of her. She squinted her eyes, trying to make out the figure but failing. Was she seeing…Seto?


	8. Warming Up

Kari felt like she was drowning and she gasped for air. Her eyes were squeezed shut as she panicked until she fell against something hard, but squishy. Sand…? Her fingers ran themselves through the weird substance and she wearily opened her eyes to immediately get hit by the sun's bright rays. Squinting now, she struggled to sit up, her hand going to her throbbing head. Ugh, what had happened?

"Kari?" a familiar voice called with disbelief.

Kari's heart jumped, not having heard that voice in quite some time. Eyes searching she saw what looked to be a glass pyramid with sand falling from the point, but held a beautiful blond on her knees inside. "MAI!" she squealed, getting to her feet wobbly –ignoring her intense headache—and approached the glass, pressing her hands against it.

"Kari? What are you doing here?" Mai asked with fright.

"I don't know Mai. What are you doing here? How'd you get in here? I thought you were in the shadow realm?" Kari asked quickly, a crease forming between her eyes.

Mai leaned against the glass with fatigue. "This is a sort of in-between place. If Yugi can't defeat Marik, I'll be sent to the shadow realm for good! Don't tell me you're stuck here too!" Tears began to wallop in her eyes at the idea.

"I don't know why I'm here," Kari said honestly. "I remember looking at a Blue Eyes White Dragon and then everything went all dark. Then I woke up here. Mai Joey is a mess without you! We all are!"

Mai wiped at her eyes, not wanting to mess her mascara up. "I know…I can hear their distress calls nonstop. It's enough to drive me crazy. Kari I wish I could say I'm happy to see you, but I'm not. I don't want you here."

"I know Mai, I don't want either of us here…" Kari said, tears flowing down her cheeks from confusion, happiness, and fright.

"You and me both Kari. What I'd like to know though, is why you're not in a glass pyramid thingy. That's hardly fair."

Kari looked around her, seeing that she was free to walk around unlike Mai but there didn't seem to be anything for miles except sand and ocean. What was this place?

"Kari?" a male voice spoke into her ear and she spun around, expecting to see someone but didn't.

"Oh god, I'm hearing voices too," Kari said shakily, as she ran a hand through her messed up ponytail.

"That's only the half of it," Mai stated flatly.

Suddenly, the wind picked up and Kari was blown away from Mai like a leaf in a gust of cold air. "MAI!" she screamed and Mai watched as Kari was picked up and sucked through a cloud before disappearing completely. Oh no! Was she in the shadow realm!?

"Kari?" a small uncertain voice woke her up and Kari's eyes opened so fast it made the small boy to her right jump backwards, clearly startled. "Kari!" he said happily with relief, as he realized she had finally pulled through. His arms went around her immediately and she smelled the familiar scent of Yugi Muto against her. Her arms automatically wound around him and held him tightly as if he was going to disappear…or she was.

"I saw Mai!" she breathed against him. Joey, who had been sitting at the foot of her bed, straightened up.

"You what?" he asked with disbelief.

She looked up at him from over Yugi's shoulder, as he seemed to not want to let go of her. She didn't mind at all. "I saw her," she repeated. "She's in this glass pyramid stuck. Sand keeps falling down into it, and I think the longer she is in there, the more sand fills it up."

Yugi finally pulled away from her but she held his hand firmly. He looked to almost be crying with relief and she felt her heart melt at the sight. "We have a time limit?" he asked her with panic.

Kari shook her head, tears forming in her eyes again. "I don't know…she told me that as soon as you defeat Marik, she can return," she explained and Joey jumped up.

"We have to figure out a way to get her back Yug. Like now," he said shakily. Yugi looked up at him.

"I'm trying, Joey. I just don't know how—"

"We've got to figure it out. What if we take his rod?" Joey suggested.

Yugi shrugged. "I mean it could work, but how would we do that? He's not just going to hand it over."

Joey groaned with frustration, his hands pulling on the ends of his hair. "Ugh!"

Tristan felt his buddy's pain from against the wall and he took a step forwards. "Come on Joey, let's go brainstorm," he suggested, glancing behind him at Duke, Serenity, and Tea. They got the message and Joey sighed with defeat but followed.

"We'll be in the cafeteria," Tristan told Yugi and Kari and they both nodded before they were left alone.

Yugi turned to Kari, feeling too relieved to have her back to be shy at the moment. "I thought you were in the shadow realm," he admitted and Kari squeezed his hand with a shake of her head.

"I wasn't. Mai told me it was like this place in between here and the shadow realm. Apparently if you're there long enough, you can hear distress from the people you care about. It's driving her crazy Yugi. We have to figure out a way to defeat Marik."

Yugi nodded. "I know Kari. I'm trying the best that I can," he explained. She knew he was, but she was so anxious to get Mai back. Knowing she wasn't in the shadow realm already was hope that they could get her back for sure. They just needed a plan…

"What happened during my duel with Seto?" she asked Yugi, her eyes falling to her hands with shame. She hadn't even finished the duel.

Yugi's face flamed up with anger. "I don't know honestly. Marik said he didn't do anything, but none of us believe him. You passed out in the ring and couldn't get up. Seto destroyed your Gaurdian and took the rest of your life points. You lost…" he explained. "I tried getting him to stop the duel, but he didn't."

Kari shook her head. "It's all right. At least I'm okay…and I remember you, Tristan, Joey, Duke, Tea, and Serenity."

"But not Seto," Yugi stated and their eyes locked.

Kari sighed. "No, I'm sorry. I still don't remember him."

Yugi nodded before a silence crept over them, both of them in deep thought. Kari finally scooted closer to Yugi and lay her head on his shoulder. "Yugi? Can I ask you something?" she asked quietly and Yugi's lips curved upwards into a small smile.

"Sure."

Kari smiled against him, nuzzling her face into his neck. "Can I kiss you again?"

Yugi froze up like he had when she had kissed him the first time. He barely remembered it, because it had been so quick, but he could still feel the tingles that had remained on his lips afterwards. Seto had been so angry with him, he had felt it in the taller boy's eyes from across the ring. But nothing had been said. After Seto had won the duel, he had ran off after Marik with vengeance. It had been the most ferocious Yugi had ever seen Seto be against anyone, including himself. Although Yugi didn't blame him…

But could he kiss Kari? He knew he shouldn't, but Seto was out of the picture for now….maybe…..no, he shouldn't. Oh please! This could be your only chance! One side of him thought. But she's still technically Seto's girlfriend, even though she doesn't remember. It doesn't make it right. Plus I promised Yami and Seto I wouldn't take advantage of her. But she's asking! Ugh…

Kari had risen her head up off of Yugi's shoulder to see his stunned expression. A blush on his cheeks. She took it as him being shy. He was always so adorable. "Red looks so cute on you," she murmured before leaning towards him.

Yugi's attention flashed back to the present and he watched as her lips got closer to his, and he could smell her breath against his face. His heart pounded in his ears with anticipation and before he could do anything, she was kissing him.

Cheeks flaring dark red, Yugi's eyes remained open in shock as she kissed him tenderly. He didn't respond at first, too torn at the experience and what was right, before she licked at his bottom lip –making him squeak against her. Kari opened her eyes to catch onto his and he closed his eyes quickly to hide the embarrassment. Kari smiled against his lips before licking again at his bottom lip, hoping he'd open his mouth so she could taste him.

Yugi's head was spinning and he didn't know what to do. However, the feel of her lips on him, her tongue trying to penetrate his mouth was making it more difficult to think and before he knew it, he was kissing her back. Kari's eyes fluttered closed once more with happiness and she leaned closer to him, her hands running up his arms to stable herself. Yugi shivered from her touch and hesitantly opened his mouth a little, which Kari took full advantage of.

The first brush of her tongue against his had his whole body heating up. The second had him thinking he wasn't close enough. He absently moved himself against Kari's side and she responded by sliding her hands over his shoulders up to his hair, running her fingers upwards within his soft spikes, pulling him closer. She ran her tongue along his with experience, wetting his own with her taste. He slowly twirled his tongue with hers, opening his mouth wider. She moaned quietly against his mouth as his hand felt for her waist and his cheeks lit up, however it didn't stop the kiss.

Sooner rather than later, they pulled away from each other to take a breath, Kari pressing her forehead against his so they weren't too far apart. Yugi's breathing was coming out rapidly and he didn't know what to say…so he kept silent. He wasn't sure if he could speak anyways.

However, their break was cut short when Kari kissed him again. This time, the kiss grew more heated as they became familiar with their lips. Yugi's hands slid up her back as she got closer to him, their bodies pressed along each other's. His heart rate was unable to slow down and he was losing himself and all thought process with each taste of her lips. He could feel her small breasts pressing against his chest, the millennium puzzle haven moved to the side with their movements. His body was tingling and taking a chance from the sudden confidence that this kiss was creating within him, he opened his mouth to lick her bottom lip, wanting to taste her completely again.

Kari was too happy to oblige and opened her mouth to let his tongue slide inside, immediately playing with her own. It was obvious Yugi had no experience with kissing, but that was the last thing on her mind. He made her feel things she didn't think she had ever felt before and she didn't want it to stop.

Yugi felt himself toy with her tongue with his own, surprising himself. The fact that he shouldn't be doing this was having a positive effect on his intimate relations. His hands slid down her back to press her up against him, hearing her moan slightly into his mouth, sending the tingles all the way down his body and making his pants tighten uncomfortably. Embarrassment broke the kiss and he removed his eyes from her, realizing just how far they were getting.

Kari's breathing was coming out hard from the intensity of their kiss and she was confused as to why he had broken it off. "Yugi?" she said breathlessly, her fingers moving to his chin to pull his face in her direction.

"I..uh…we should stop," he stuttered, cheeks as red as her blanket.

Kari tilted her head curiously. "Why? Don't you like me?"

Yugi bit the inside of his cheek while looking at her. He couldn't necessarily lie… "Of course I do, but…I don't think that this is a good idea…there's cameras…"

"I'm sure they don't watch them all the time. And plus…." She said, a teasing glint to her voice, making him blush all over again. He had never seen this side to Kari before and he wasn't sure what to make of it. It was definitely sending his hormones into hyper drive. "I doubt they'd be looking if we were doing….things…"

Yugi swallowed a nervous lump down his throat and he looked at her with anxiety. Things…they definitely shouldn't be doing things. "I-I dunno Kari…maybe we should go find the others…"

Blood filled Kari's cheeks and she leaned away from him, making him feel guilty for rejecting her. She looked down at her hands and took a deep breath. "Maybe you should just go…I'll just rest a bit."

Yugi bit his lip and watched her, wishing he could give her what she wanted but knowing that he'd be killed if he did it. He couldn't stand the look of sadness on her face and he stood up awkwardly, feeling the stiffness in his pants still. Adjusting his puzzle, he bent over to kiss her cheek. She sighed.

"I'm sorry….I shouldn't be so upset about this. I just thought, with everything that's going on, that it'd be all right to let loose ya know?" she said miserably and Yugi looked down at her with a frown.

"I understand, but I just don't think it's a good idea right now," he said, reluctantly pulling away from her. He smoothed her hair down and stood up straight. "Do you want to come down with me?"

Kari shook her head and lay back against her pillow. "I think I need some sleep," she said honestly. Yugi nodded, seeing the circles beneath her eyes before taking a step away.

"Well if you need me, I'll be down in the cafeteria," he said before leaving her alone in her quiet room, wishing to god that he didn't have morals.

Kari couldn't get comfortable enough to go to sleep. It was like her body was rebelling against her fatigue. She finally gave up and got out of bed. She found her deck and duel disk lying on the table at the end of her bed and began fiddling with the cards, trying to remember everything that had happened during her duel with Seto. All she could remember was the Blue Eyes…..she wished she could talk to him and ask him herself.

But she didn't think that was possible with him being invisible and all.

She stopped sorting through her cards as she caught sight of her Kaiser Sea Horse. Something stirred inside of her and she frowned down at it with confusion. This card meant a lot to her, she knew that. But she didn't even remember where she had obtained it from…that was weird. Why wouldn't she remember where she had got her favorite card from? It didn't make sense…unless…

Kari stowed the rest of her cards away, but held the Kaiser in her hand as she left her room. She didn't know what she was doing, but she wanted to find Seto anyways. Wandering the hallways, she began to realize she was lost. Like she would be able to find his room, ha! She couldn't even see him. What good would this do?

Suddenly feeling deflated, she began to turn around but a door ajar caught her eyes. Something pulled her towards it and she decided to at least check. She started to feel nervous for some reason but she visibly shook it off. She poked her head around the door to look into the room, seeing a large computer screen taking up half of the wall with desk chair in front of it. The room was silent except for the sound of fingers against a keyboard and she immediately pulled it together to realize he must be there working.

Heart pounding, she was alarmed to know that she had found him without even knowing it. Taking a deep breath, she pushed the door open enough so she could walk inside. It creaked and the chair spun around wildly, making her freeze with terror. There was no sound made from either of them and she stared at the chair with wide eyes.

"Uh…." She finally heard her voice, wishing she could get better control over herself. That was rather difficult when you had to talk to an invisible person about something you didn't even know pertained to him. She held her card up with a shaky hand. "I'm sorry to disturb you….Mr. Kaiba….but I was just wondering if…maybe this card had anything to do with you and my lost memories."

She was taking a chance here and she looked away from the chair awkwardly to stare down at the floor with insecurity. Would she even be able to hear him speak?

Footsteps coming towards her had her backing up with panic, but the wall behind her had her stuck. The steps continued to come forward and she held herself still. The card was taken from her hand and she watched with wide uneasy eyes as it floated in the air as the invisible person in front of her looked it over. Why was this so hard to remember him?

"Kari…" the whispered voice drifted over to her and she sucked in air with shock. That voice made her feel strange, but she knew it was him speaking to her…"Can you hear me?"

Kari couldn't find her voice so she just nodded meekly. He was really close to her now and she could feel his body heat radiating towards her.

"Good…" he said through his whispery voice. She wished she could hear his real voice. "Why do you think this card has to do with me?"

Kari's cheeks reddened at the question. "Uh…well, I can't seem to remember how I got it and so I figured it had something to do with you, since I don't remember you either."

He got even closer to her and she had to place her hands up in front of her to stop the invisible figure from pressing up against her. Her heart jumped at the warm chest of this man and she swallowed deeply. He was silent for a long while, and if it wasn't for the fact that she was touching him, she'd have thought he had left.

Finally, after a few long minutes, he answered her. "I gave it to you."

Kari's eyes flew upwards to where she assumed his eyes were. "You gave it to me? Wer—I mean, are we friends?" she asked him, her eyebrows furrowing between her eyes trying to decipher all of this information.

Kari felt him move in front of her, before feeling a warm large –invisible—hand caress her cheek, making her blush darkly and look down with embarrassment. "Yes Kari…we are friends…but we are so much more than that."

Kari's mind was spinning, trying to latch onto quick images that she wasn't even sure were real or pertained to what was being told to her. She was…more than friends with Seto Kaiba? Why hadn't Yugi told her that? "I-I don't understand. If we're more than friends, why hasn't anyone told me of that?"

Seto's whispery voice sighed against her, and she could smell his breath against her face. This was odd, but she felt a sudden stir in her lower abdomen at the scent. It was familiar to her and it made her feel…aroused? Almost? It was pulling at something deep within her. Could this all be true?

"No one knows," Seto explained. "We kept it a secret during my tournament. However, Yugi has withheld the information. You told him prior to you losing your memory."

Kari was feeling lightheaded with the information and she slid her hand up his chest to his neck, to his lips to silence him. She placed her other hand to her forehead as her brain spun uncontrollably with more images. Dark hair. Blue eyes. Soft skin. The warmth of hands caressing her body as she lay beneath a tall figure…was this…Seto? A memory?

Seto remained patient with her and she was thankful. "It's true isn't it?" she murmured as she looked back up but gasped. She could see a silvery figure standing in front of her, but she couldn't make out the features. "I—can see you! Well sorta," she said, her eyes widening.

Seto had been stunned to see her enter his lab room. He had been even more surprised to hear her questioning about her Kaiser Sea Horse. And now…could she actually begin to see him? It was enough to make his heart beat fast in his chest with hope. His Kari was returning to him! Suddenly the power of the god cards paled in comparison. He leaned forwards, running his hand down her neck. Her cheeks reddened and he smiled, loving how shy she was being. She hadn't been this shy since he had first kissed her. His heart fluttered at the thought.

"Kari, can I ask something of you? I think it might help you to remember me, but I don't want to do anything to make you uncomfortable. I can understand if this is all too much," he forced out, but he really hoped she'd agree to do this.

Kari couldn't stop trying to make out his figure. It was so frustrating to be able to make out his outline but nothing else. It was as if her mind was cruelly teasing her. "What?" she asked with a tilt of her head.

Seto held back his eagerness, but he couldn't help it when she looked up at him like that. It was her signature move: tilting her head. It was one of the things that fascinated him. "Could I…kiss you?" he asked slowly and he watched her reaction carefully.

Kari froze, not knowing what to do. This was a lot to take in and she wasn't sure how to digest it. But maybe Seto was right…if it was true that they were dating then perhaps him kissing her would help. She looked up at his outlined face and slid her hand up to his cheek, feeling slight stubble upon it. The feeling of it felt familiar –as did most of the things that pertained to Seto—and she felt herself leaning into him absently.

"Okay," she whispered. Seto felt his heart jump and he leaned down. Her touch was driving him crazy and it was difficult for him to remember that she couldn't see him clearly as he could see her. The apprehension was clear in her eyes and he didn't want to make her scared like he had before. He just wanted to make her remember him…

Kari's heart sped up as he got closer to her and before she knew it, his lips were pressed against hers.


	9. Millennium Rod

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Earns it's rating at the end of the chapter.

"You did the right thing, Yugi," Tea tried to comfort her friend after he had explained absolutely everything to them, with only in return that they wouldn't let the information leave the room. After eating in the cafeteria, they all had piled into Yugi's bedroom to have a serious conversation. Yugi felt better about getting all of this off of his chest, but he wasn't feeling exactly himself as of late.

"I know, but it's just difficult ya know?" he said, rubbing the back of his neck while thinking about Kari. He hadn't wanted to leave her room, especially with how she had made him feel, but it wasn't right to do such things, given the situation. And to be honest, he wasn't sure he was ready to be making sexual steps in his life.

Joey shook his head as he sat in front of Yugi on the bed. "Man, I had no idea that Kari was goin' through such a mess. Ya should have told us sooner," he said, clearly upset that he had been left out of the loop.

"Yeah, maybe we could have helped," Tristan added from his spot on the floor.

Tea, who was practically clinging to Yugi's side on the bed, sighed. "When are you going to realize that we are here for a reason Yugi?" she asked him sternly, making his cheeks light up and his body recoil from her immediately.

He had always had a hard time with letting his friends fight battles for him, or at least that was what it looked like to him. All his life he had been treated as a delicate little flower because he wasn't this macho guy like Tristan, Joey, Duke, or even Seto Kaiba. He could find a bit of confidence during card games –his favorite thing in the world—and he wanted to prove himself to everyone, including himself that he be successful about something! So it was hard to remember that his friends were there to help him, not to do it for him.

"I thought I could do it on my own," he replied honestly, making her narrow her eyes. "Plus, Kari told me not to tell anyone before she lost her memories and I was trying to keep that promise."

"Well some promises are going to have to be broken in situations like this," Tea said, crossing her arms. "I mean, how can we help her if we are hiding important information from her?"

They all agreed with that. Yugi had been coming to that conclusion for a while now, so for it to be reassured, made him feel better that he was doing the right thing.

"So….do we go find Kari and tell her all of this?" Joey asked.

Yugi looked down bashfully at the thought of seeing Kari again after they had parted the last time. "Probably," he muttered and Tea rolled her eyes. She grabbed her spiky haired friend and pulled him up to his feet. He looked up at her with wide purple eyes.

"You've got to get a grip Yugi! If you like Kari as much as you say you do, then you have to fight for her," she told him, before letting him go and walking off towards the door.

Yugi looked up at Joey with uncertainty and bright red cheeks. Joey rolled his eyes but couldn't help but smile at his friend as he stood up from the bed. "Welcome to the man club, Yug," he said, clapping his friend on the back a little too hard, sending Yugi forwards and falling onto the floor. Joey helped him up quickly. "Uh, sorry…"

"No problem!" Yugi said with a slight smile, rubbing his back where Joey had hit it. "Uh, let's go!"

"Now we're talkin'!"

"I think it's so cute how Yugi likes Kari," Serenity said to Duke, not seeing Tristan narrow his eyes at their backs. "When I have an admirer, I want him to fight for me."

Tristan tilted his head with curiosity, while Duke grinned brightly. "Perhaps you already do, and trust me, he's fighting for you all right."

Kari was pressed against the wall, lost completely in what was Seto's, lips. His hands ran up her sides, making her heat up immediately and her heart pounded loud within her chest, so much she was sure he could feel it. But neither of them were paying attention. Mouth to mouth, Kari couldn't help but gasp at the sensation he was giving her. He took full advantage and snuck his tongue between her lips, finding her tongue immediately as if he'd done this a million times before. And with what he was telling her, he probably had. Her eyes closed, it was easy to pretend she actually could see him, as her hands did all the seeing. They moved up to his hair and the reaction she got from him was enough to send her soaring. He moaned low in his throat, vibrating the sound into her mouth, making her clutch to him so he'd never let go. Seto took one more step forwards, his body crushing against hers, making her feel every line of his body along hers. His tongue in her mouth felt like nothing she had felt before, but his taste…it was so….familiar….

Suddenly breaking the contact of the kiss, she finally opened her eyes to see the silvery figure still standing in front of her. Despite the steam between them, she felt disappointed. Nothing new had happened. Seto raised his hands to her cheeks, looking straight into her eyes…or at least that's what she felt like he was doing.

"Can you see me?" he asked, his voice become gruffer. Okay, so maybe that was new. It wasn't entirely the whispery voice anymore.

"No, but I can hear you better," she said honestly, her hands holding onto his shoulders. She had to touch him, otherwise she felt like he'd disappear again.

Seto sighed and leaned his forehead upon her shoulder. He took a deep breath against her and she ran a hand up into his hair, ruffing the soft strands slightly. "I'm sorry," she whispered, feeling his own disappointment radiating towards her.

Seto turned his head and pressed a kiss to the nape of her neck, sending shivers down her body. "It's not your fault, Kari. But I promise you," he said, before lifting his head again. "I will get you your memories back. I've been researching these millennium items and I can only guess that there is some kind of magic involved," he explained and that caught her full attention.

"You've been finding out a way to get my memories back this whole time?" she asked him, baffled. She hadn't even known who he was and he was doing all of this for her. She swallowed back the emotions.

Seto pressed a chaste kiss to her lips before nodding. "Of course Kari. You're one of two most important people in my life. I don't ever want to lose you."

Kari's heart tightened. "Who's the second?"

Seto's outlined face frowned and he looked down for a second before answering. "My little brother Mokuba. You can't remember him either?"

The name rang a bell. "Oh! No, I can't. Yugi thought that it's because he is so heavily connected to you."

Seto's hands on her neck stiffened and she looked up at him curiously. "What?"

Seto pulled away from her abruptly, turning away from her to pace. Kari exhaled and pulled away from the wall, not realizing she hadn't been breathing properly that whole time. "Seto?"

"Yugi…he told me that he'd keep you safe. But this whole time, you've been making moves on him. He has feelings for you and now I realize you have feelings for him as well….this, complicates us Kari," he said gruffly and Kari blushed with embarrassment and guilt. Especially from what she was trying to get Yugi to do with her just minutes prior.

"Uh…well to be fair, I don't remember you and I didn't even know that we were together…and honestly, I still am on the edges with it all…." Kari admitted, looking down at her bare feet as she said this. He couldn't be angry at her, she didn't do anything with a conscious mind.

Seto hissed with frustration and she peered up at him to see him grabbing at his hair. This must be really hard for him. She approached his pacing form and grabbed his hand, making him stop and look down at her. She slid her hand up to his bicep and situated herself directly in front of him. "For what it's worth, I'm sorry. I didn't know I was hurting you," she said honestly.

"I know," his gruff voice broke and he looked away from her. "I'm just not sure that things would be different if you did have your memory of me back. Before all of this, it was obvious how you felt for him…and you told me that you weren't-doing that with Yugi. But from what I have seen since you've lost your memories, you seem to be doing just fine without me."

Kari tensed and looked down with a frown. She didn't know what to say to him to reassure his insecurities. She did like Yugi, very much so. And she had had it in her mind that she wanted to be with him since she had apparently lost her memories. But with the information Seto had told her, would that change her feelings? It was obvious, clear or not, he cared for her a great deal. He had been trying to figure out a way to help her memory since she had lost it, all the while, knowing she was trying to get closer to Yugi. She felt guilty and a bit overwhelmed.

"Why don't you go lay down, Kari," he suddenly said, breaking her train of thought. She looked up to see him staring down at her again. His hand rose to brush her hair out of her face. "You look dreadfully tired and I can't believe you aren't wearing at least socks. If you could remember me, I'd scold you."

Kari blushed but couldn't help but smile up at him. "Can I come see you, to try…again?" she asked uncertainly. Okay, so she wasn't asking to kiss him again –although it had been the best kiss she had ever received—but she did need to talk to him more to see if she could remember.

Seto leaned forwards and pressed another kiss to her lips, her eyes fluttered closed and she melted into it. If there was one thing for sure, Seto Kaiba could kiss a lady's pants off.

Suddenly a flash of light surrounded them and Kari was pulled away from Seto and thrown into the wall that she had been pressed against moments ago.

"Looks like we're going to have to try harder than that, Mr. Kaiba. You have something that I want…" Marik's creepy voice spoke throughout the room and Kari shuddered in horror as another flash of light had Seto tied by invisible ropes against the other wall. He struggled before glaring at Marik.

"And what's that?" Seto seethed, glaring darkly at Marik while struggling to break free. "Kari?"

Marik cackled. "Kari? Oh is that her name?" he said looking behind him to see Kari struggling to her feet. Seto felt his whole body burn with hatred at the man as he looked at his girlfriend. Marik moved forward and Seto lunged, however because he was stuck, he fell back against the wall –groaning with frustration.

Kari had finally gotten to her feet and she backed herself up against the wall as Marik stood before her, eyes wide with horror and her body visibly shaking from fear. Marik rose his hand towards her cheek but she swatted it away as Seto saw fire.

"DON'T TOUCH HER!" he yelled and Kari shrunk away from Marik and his penetrating silver like eyes.

"Tell me Kari…can you see Mr. Kaiba?" he asked with a wide smirk and Kari glanced over at Seto's silvery figure and the answer to Marik's question was all over her face.

"N-no," she said before glaring at Marik. This man had taken her memory of the man who was supposed to be very important to her. Most likely the only family she'd ever really known and he thought he could get away with it. And for what? Power. "Why have you done this? What do you gain?" she asked, becoming furious with this man.

Marik seemed to be surprised by her sudden confidence in herself, because she had been behaving like a meek submissive little girl but this man didn't know Kari Tsubaki. But he pulled it off by laughing again. It sent another involuntary shudder down her spine.

"Amusement of course. Just a distraction to get what I truly want," he stated as he looked back at Seto hungrily.

"And that is?" Seto asked through gritted teeth.

"Why, your god card of course. If I possess all the god cards and the millennium items, I'll be the most powerful and I can rule the world!" Marik announced as he advanced on Seto.

"Over my dead body," Seto stated with fury and Marik laughed manically.

"That shouldn't be a problem," he said with wicked amusement. He threw his millennium rod up against Seto's neck threateningly, pointy end towards his neck. Seto gulped against it and glared up at Marik, neither of them seeing the small blond with a laptop in her hands creeping up behind them.

Kari slammed the laptop into Marik's head, knocking the man out and sending him to the ground with a thud. Seto's bindings immediately were unleashed and he grabbed Kari into his arms. She was shaking and the laptop fell onto the floor in pieces.

"Kari, are you all right?" he asked, looking her over to the best of his ability.

Kari couldn't find her voice so she just hid her face in his neck and clutched onto him. Seto held her tightly to him and breathed in her scent through her hair. She had saved him, he thought with a small smile. Despite her lack of memory, she had still saved him. He could have taken care of Marik himself, but seeing his little spitfire whack the crap out of Marik was quite satisfying.

Seto looked over her shoulder as she continued to cling to him, her body still shaking from the fear, and he looked down at the millennium rod that had rolled away from Marik on the floor. There was one thing he needed to do. Letting go of Kari, and prying her fingers off of him, but not letting her hand go, he bent down and picked the golden rod into his hand.

Kari looked at it with a crease between her brows. "Seto? What should we do with—"

Her voice was cut off when the rod suddenly glowed and sent a strange breeze out of nowhere, sending both of their hair ruffled. And as soon as it began, it stopped. Seto stared down at it intently and Kari looked from it to Seto and gasped.

Seto wasn't sure what had happened, but it was as if as soon as he had touched the rod, it had become his. Shuddering because of the power that enamored him, he didn't realize the girl next to him was going through something sort of similar but completely different. It was at that time, that Yugi and his friends ran into the room in a panic.

"KARI! Bakura said that he saw Marik coming for you and Seto!" Yugi said as he ran over to them, tears in his eyes from how afraid he had been.

Kari broke out of her trance as she stared at Seto to see Yugi reaching her and pulling her into a tight embrace. Joey looked between Seto and Marik on the floor.

"What exactly happened?" Joey asked, kicking the side of Marik who didn't move a muscle from the assault.

Kari was shivered and let go of Yugi as she looked down at Marik. "I hit him upside the head with a laptop."

Joey laughed and high fived her, which she did so with a small smile. Yugi looked over at Seto who was still staring down at the millennium rod in his hand. Something was off. "Kaiba?"

With the reminder that Seto was still in the room, Kari looked up at him and felt tears prick at her eyes. She discarded everyone in the room from her mind and threw herself at her boyfriend with as much effort that she could. He caught her awkwardly, still holding the rod in one hand, as he held her legs that wrapped around him tightly.

"I can see you," she murmured happily, tears streaming down her face, before kissing him all over his face. The others looked elsewhere, feeling intrusive and awkward. They had only just been told that they were together. Yugi stared onwards though, feeling a tight constriction in his chest.

Seto blushed visibly and walked with her in his arms through the lab. "Get out of my lab. We'll be landing soon and I want you out of my sight in 2 hours." Seto leaned his cheek against his collar of his jacket, turning the mic on. "Retrieve Marik from my lab and make sure he is locked up until we land the blimp. I want him out of my sight."

"One problem with that Kaiba!" Joey called after him, making Seto turn around with Kari still in his arms. She too looked behind her. "He's disappeared!"

True enough he had disappeared. They wouldn't realize until later on that the reason for that was because the millennium rod now belonged to another person, Seto, that it inadvertently sent the spirit of evil Marik to the shadow realm. And somewhere on the blimp, Ishizu was holding her brother tightly in a loving embrace as he apologized for everything he'd ever done.

Yugi didn't know how to process any of it and he desperately wanted to be happy for the fact that everything seemed to be turning up right again, but he just stared after everyone. As Joey ran out of the room, calling behind him that he was after Mai in one of the medical rooms, and the rest of the gang followed out with just as much eagerness, Yugi slowed his steps and looked behind him down the hallway. Seto had dropped Kari down onto her feet and had pressed her against the wall, giving her a very passionate kiss that she seemed to be giving just as much back.

It was nice while it lasted he thought, as he felt a cool hand on his shoulder. He looked up into the crimson eyes of his partner and saw the small comforting smile on Yami's face. "Come on Yugi, let's give them some space."

Yugi took his heart and turned around. There was nothing he could do. Yami led him away from the couple and turned the corner. Perhaps this was what was meant to be.

Kari pushed at Seto's chest and he looked down at her with the brightest blue eyes she had ever seen. The happiness was radiating from him in a different light. "I can't believe I can see you love!" she said cheerfully, her eyes sparkling like they never had before. Her memory of him had returned as soon as the millennium rod changed masters. She ran her fingers over the outlines of his face. "I'm never taking advantage of how devilishly handsome you are, ever again," she said before laughing.

Seto's lips curved upwards and he hid his face into her hair, taking a deep breath. "I'm never letting you go ever again…"

"KARI!"

Seto pulled away from Kari as they looked down the hallway to see a small boy with long black hair, wearing the largest grin on his face, as he ran at them. He grabbed onto her around the middle and she laughed happily, hugging Mokuba back.

"Seto wouldn't let me come see you until your memory of us was back," he explained into her hair before he pulled away, tears in his eyes with happiness. "I missed you Kari."

"Oh Mokuba, I missed you too. I mean, I didn't remember you but in my subconscious, I knew there was something missing when someone would say your name," she said, giving him a kiss on the cheek which he brightened at. Seto smiled at them. He'd always appreciated how Kari was with Mokuba.

"Mokuba, go make sure that the officials are preparing for landing," Seto said and Mokuba looked up at his big brother before nodding.

"You got it, big brother," he said before rushing off.

Kari smirked at Seto and grabbed his hand. Seto narrowed his eyes with suspicion, not liking the look on his girlfriend's face. "Come on sweetheart," she said while tugging him down the hallway. He let her but didn't admit defeat.

"I told you about that nickname…" he said and she laughed, knowing he hated it. "I barely let you get away with calling me 'love'." It was as if they had gone right back to where they had started.

"Oh please, I haven't remembered you in a few days, let me have my fun," she said happily, grabbing onto their bedroom door knob.

As soon as they were inside, Kari practically pounced on him and he had to grab onto the wall to keep himself up right. Her lips was on his in an instant and he kissed her back absently before realizing that there was much that needed to be talked about now that she was remembering him. He broke this kiss and bit back a groan when she attacked his neck instead. It felt like such a long time since he had her and she was making it difficult to concentrate.

Going against his better judgment –and his body's wants—Seto pried her from his body and set her down on her feet. She immediately pouted with eyes full of confusion. "We need to talk," he said simply, taking her hand and pulling her to the bed. She sat down next to him, now concerned.

He stood up and looked down at the millennium rod, still in his hand, and he sat it down next to his laptop. Eyes lingering on the golden object that somehow now belonged to him, which he fully didn't understand, Seto pulled himself back to Kari and sat down. She was sitting cross legged and her hands were sliding over the creases in the bed sheets. She did that when she was nervous, he had seen her do it many times. And he couldn't help but feel his heart flutter at seeing her like this, in his bed, once more.

"This is about Yugi isn't it?" she asked, her voice small. She was trying to remain calm and collected. But the guilt was creeping up on her.

Seto looked down at his hands thoughtfully. "Yes, Kari."

Kari remained silent and she licked at her dry lips apprehensively. She knew this wasn't going to be a good conversation and she didn't want to ruin what they had just got back. But he was right. They needed to talk it out.

"What…are your feelings for me?"

His question took her off guard as it hadn't been what she had been expecting him to say first. She snapped her eyes up to him and tilted her head. "I love you Seto. With all my heart," she said honestly, her heart tightening as she said the words.

Seto breathed deeply without looking up. "Is it enough?" he asked in a strained voice.

Kari placed her hand on his back as she leaned forwards. "Of course it is. What I feel for Yugi is completely different than what I feel for you." She tried to ignore the way that he stiffened at Yugi's name.

"How so?"

Kari bit her bottom lip, trying to figure out a good way to explain her feelings for both of the boys in her life. She barely understood it herself, so she decided to be honest. "I like Yugi because he was quick to understand things that you didn't. It was easy to talk to him about what was going on around us. He's cute and sweet. And he's a very loyal and amazing friend. He proved that even through my memory loss…"

"Without me around, you were quick to jump on him," Seto said lowly, still not making eye contact. Kari sighed.

"It's not what you think love," she said quickly. "Without you in my life, I would have fallen for someone like Yugi. He's fun to be around and he makes me laugh. The difference is…is that you are in my life. You make me feel safe, loved, and special. You can keep me in line when I'm doing crazy things and I'm over my head, like climbing on blimps," she explained with a small laugh. "You've shown me love and you've made me realize that you need to keep your family close. You're loyal, sweet in your way, and way too sexy for your own good. You're perfect."

Seto was blushing by then. His heart was saying to believe her but his mind was still throwing insecurities at him. Visions of her kissing Yugi floated into his mind. "I'm far from perfect Kari. Look how long it took for me to believe what you had been trying to tell me for so long. No wonder you went off with Yugi when you had the chance."

Kari frowned and scooted closer to him and leaned her forehead on his shoulder. She didn't like Seto talking like this about himself. He'd never done it before and it was really worrying her. "Seto please, don't degrade yourself. Yugi is a wonderful person and I'll fight with you forever to be friends with him, but it's you I choose to be with romantically. You've had my heart that very first day and you know it. Heck, you never let me forget it."

Seto's lips curved upwards and he finally looked up and caught her eyes. She smiled hopefully at him. "You fell in love with me first," he said with a smirk. Kari rolled her eyes, but he cut her off by kissing her.

His hands reached for cheeks and she leaned into him, melting into the kiss and pouring her heart into it. Now alone, the conversation out of the way, there was nothing left to discuss. Kari slid her hands up his arms and he leaned her back against the pillows. She sighed into the kiss and he propped himself up with his hands over her as she slid her own up to his cheeks to keep him close. The kiss was sensual and sweet, making Kari feel like crying if she was sappy enough. She had missed Seto so much. She had had to sleep by herself –well except that one night she had slept with Yugi—and it was sad to know that didn't even remember sleeping next to this man.

Putting that in the past, Kari rubbed his cheek and suddenly giggled. Seto broke the kiss and looked down at her with narrowed eyes. "What?"

Kari squirmed underneath him, feeling giddy as she laughed. "You shouldn't shave more often," she said while stroking a finger down his stubbly cheek. Seto rolled his eyes.

"I've been miserable woman, trust me, once I get a good night's sleep tonight tomorrow it's going to be gone. So don't get used to it," he said before dipping his head and kissing her collarbone.

Kari closed her eyes with a smile, enjoying his attentions and company. "Then I guess I better take advantage of it." Seto just 'mmmed' in response as he pressed hot kisses up her neck. She raised her chin to give him better access.

He poked his tongue along her skin and her breath hitched, the temperature in the room heating up. Seto's hands slid up her curves as he licked and nipped at her skin, listening to her beautiful sounds as he did so. He so desperately missed this.

"Mmm…Seto…" Kari murmured while he kissed up her jaw and up to her lips once more, kissing her with more passion than before. His tongue poked through his lips to wet her bottom lip and she immediately opened for him. His body grew warm and her tongue swirled with his as he invaded her mouth. Too long had he had to wait for this and now nothing was going to get into his way.

One of his large hands found a breast over her shirt and she arched into him beautifully, pressing her waist up into his, her thigh feeling his need for her that was slowly getting harder by the moment. Kari broke from the kiss unexpectedly and Seto stared down at her with heavy blue eyes.

"No teasing Seto," she said with a small curving smile as she ran her hands down his chest and cupped him. He tensed and leaned his head forward, giving her ear a kiss. Kari shivered from his warm breath.

"There's no teasing going on baby," Seto murmured low into her ear, sending sparks flying throughout her body. He slowly grinded into her hand and she swallowed, before reaching up and kissing the side of his neck. Seto's eyes closed and he smiled into her hair as he tilted his head some for her to continue her actions on his neck. Her kisses were different than his, sweet, sensual –as his were demanding and sexual.

Kari kissed up to his ear, nipping at the skin below it, making him jump and narrow his eyes at her. She leaned forwards with a playful smirk, her hand rubbing against him softly, making his breathing more ragged than it should be. "Then why don't you get to it then?" she taunted him, before kissing him again.

Seto kissed back with fervor, but pulled away with a wicked gleam in his eyes. "You're so needy tonight," he teased her and grinded into her hand again, letting her know that she was making him feel good. Kari's eyes flashed to his and she pulled her hand away from him with a pout.

"Don't call me needy," she said defiantly looking away from him. Seto chuckled and let his hands wonder down her body and under her shirt, feeling her soft skin under his fingertips. He pressed his forehead against her shoulder and let his hands do the seeing for the moment. They gently made their way up to her bra covered breasts, pulling the padding down to pinch at her nipples. The harsh intake of breath from her had him continuing and soon she was squirming under his hands.

"Mm...Please….Seto…."

Seto smirked and lifted his head, caressing her breasts as he did so. Her lips were parted from her hard breathing and her eyes were as heavy as his were, making her crystal blue eyes look quite dark from her arousal. She was the most beautiful creature he'd ever seen. She caught his eyes and his smirk widened. "Still needy, Kari."

Kari huffed and tried to get out from under his hands, but to no avail. She huffed again and scrunched her face up, looking away from him as best as she could. Seto grinned and pinched at her nipples again, making her gasp and look his way again with wide eyes. "You're being a butt right now," she said through narrowed eyes.

Seto didn't say a word and just slid down her body, pulling her shirt up as he did so. She thought momentarily on resisting but then decided against it and let him take the shirt off of her. She wanted this as much as he did and his teasing her was making her really happy. He stopped her from laying back down after throwing her shirt somewhere in the room to reach behind her and pull the clasp of her bra free. Kari watched him slide the remaining garment from the top half of her body away, his eyes latching onto her breasts before his mouth did. Kari let out a tiny moan at his warm mouth around her nipple, her head falling backwards and her hands touching the back of his head, running her fingers through his silky locks.

"Mm…" Seto moaned around her breasts, and she pulled her head back up. "All mine," he said after pulling away from one nipple to then go forth to the other one. She sighed contentedly, whole heartedly agreeing with the fact that she was all his. Yes, she sure did like Yugi and she was sure if things were different, they'd be happy together. But Seto was her fire and she needed it. She needed him.

Seto leaned her back down against the pillows again and began trailing wet kisses down her flat stomach. Her abdomen muscles tensed slightly as shivers ran over her skin. Seto smirked against her, loving how responsive she was to him. They had been each other's firsts and he honestly could say that doing this with her time and time again was even better than the first time. He had grown to know what she liked and she had done the same to him. It wasn't often that he let her have control, but when he did, he had clearly enjoyed himself.

When he reached her zipper to her jean shorts, she stopped him with her hands on his own. Seto pulled his mouth away from her hip to look up at her in question. She smiled sweetly at him, making his heart melt within his chest. "I think you're a little over dressed, don't you?"

Seto quirked an eyebrow. "No."

Kari rolled her eyes with a laugh and sat herself up, making Seto lose his concentration and sit up as well. She reached for jacket and pulled it from his shoulders, throwing it onto the floor before she grabbed his shirt and began pulling it upwards. They stayed silent as he let her take the black shirt off of him and then watched as she leaned forwards and began placing kisses against his bare chest. She was so warm and she smelled so good. Vanilla was the most intoxicating scent he had ever smelled and if it wasn't for Kari, he wouldn't have ever realized that.

As she swirled her tongue around a nipple, he breathed deeply, loving the sensations she gave him as well as what he did to her. He let a hand fall down to her own breast, playing with that as she continued to tease him. Kari shook with need and she lifted her head to kiss him deeply. Seto responded immediately, grabbing onto her back to pull her tightly against him in their sitting position. Her legs wound around him and he leaned them backwards, his hands running through her hair as her own wondered over every plane of muscle that was on him.

Tongues dancing together, Kari barely noticed Seto's hand returning to her zipper to unfasten her jean shorts, his hand slipping beneath to test how needy she truly was. His fingers moved downwards, catching her small knot of nerves first, sending electricity to spark between them at the touch. She was wet. Kari pulled back from the kiss with a gasp, her lips red and swollen from the passionate kiss they had shared. Seto turned his attention back to her body as he kissed her neck, slowly rubbing circles on her with his fingers, making her legs twitch and sounds that belonged only to Kari leave her lips. Her hips absently raised forwards and he used his forearm to keep her still as he quickened his fingertips to work her ragged. And it was working.

"Seto…" she gasped, her breath hitching at last minute as he had pressed a sensitive spot on her. His hot mouth wondering over her neck and chest, his fingers, and his sexy body over the top of hers was leaving her breathless and sweaty with need.

Seto smirked. "What baby? What do you need?"

Kari narrowed her eyes at the word "need" and she forced herself to focus on her irritation, however difficult it was that she was being played with by her boyfriend. "I'm not…needy!" the last word was half yelled as he had pressed against her hard and bit her nipple at the same time. She huffed and her lifted head from the torture fell back against the pillow. "Fine! Do what you want with me!" she said, sounding defeated and frustrated.

Seto grinned and raised his head, his hand removing itself from her. "Haven't I been doing just that?" he asked her innocently…as if Seto Kaiba could be in any way innocent. He even mocked her by tilting his head in her own fashion.

"Would you just do me already?" she asked him with exasperation making Seto laugh at her choice of words.

"Do you? Even in the bedroom Kari, you truly are the most innocent creature I've met," he said with a shake of his head, his admire for her clear in his eyes. She blushed under him and his smile widened. "Mmm…there's that cute blush I've been dying to see."

Kari would have pushed him off of her but she felt like they had been playing around for far too long. She needed him and she needed him now. Needy be damned. She looked up at him, realizing he had stopped for the moment to tease her and she grew mischievous. Time to turn the tables.

Kari tried to conceal her smirk the best that she could and she ran her hands over his chest, smiling as soon as he closed his eyes to enjoy her touch. She let her fingers trace the lines of muscles all the way down to his abdomen. She slid her hands back up through the stray chest hairs to run them back down to his waistline. Seto leaned his forehead against her shoulder to repress his shudder. Her small hands felt amazing against him. Kari bit her bottom lip as she dipped her hands inside of his pants.

Seto's heart jumped and he pulled away to look down at her, catching her smirk before she could conceal it. Her hands were on his bare skin before he could do or say anything, and words failed him. His own flush brightened his cheeks and she smiled softly, running her fingers the best she could within his pants and boxers to trace the head of him. Seto sucked in a breath and let it out through a shudder. A few seconds of her fingering him, caressing him, and stroking him, had Seto panting against her and that was the finish line.

Pulling away from her abruptly, Seto stood to pull his pants and boxers off all in one swipe then attacked her own bottoms, pulling them off to expose her completely. Kari timidly kept her legs spread as he parted them further, stroking her thighs with his hands before leaning over her again, pressing himself against her. Seto pressed his forehead against hers for a moment before kissing her softly. "I missed you," he whispered onto her lips and Kari felt like she could cry.

"I missed you too love," she said just as quietly, running her hands over his hair to his back. Seto ran his hand down in between their bodies to grasp himself, moaning quietly at how hard he was, before positioning himself at her entrance. Kari looked into his eyes as he slid within her and she sucked in a breath. They hadn't done this in quite some time, because they had been on the blimp, and so she was tight once more.

They both moaned together, their lips falling in sync with each other as Seto slowly moved in her. Kari tightened her grip on his back and Seto let a hand slide down to them, rubbing her clit with his movements to make it more pleasurable for her. Kari gasped aloud and Seto stuck his tongue into her mouth to taste her.

Soon it was more pleasurable for Kari and she loosened her grip upon his back to caress it and Seto took that as his moment to go faster. He broke the kiss, due to being out of breath, and nuzzled her neck as he thrusted into her. Her legs wrapped around his hips to keep them close so tightly that he didn't think he'd be able to break free even if he wanted to.

"Kari…" Seto's voice was wonderfully husky.

He thrust as far as he could go within her and she arched up, her body clenching and holding him there. Her nails scraped at his back and Seto shuddered, capturing her lips again heatedly. She felt so incredible underneath him and the emotion behind all that they were doing was also capturing his heart all over again. No one would ever take her away from him. Ever Again. She was his.

"Mine," he growled into her mouth.

"Yours," she agreed breathlessly and was cut off as he hit a certain spot within her, sending goose bumps all over her skin. "Oh Seto!" she cried out as she climaxed around him, sending Seto to dive further into, hitting that spot each time he rammed into her. He watched her as she orgasmed, thinking her the most beautiful girl he'd ever been witnessed to.

Her parted swollen lips, her clenching and unclenching muscles around him, and the bright flush on her body had him losing it and his thrusts became more frenzied and quick until he was coming inside of her, her hands holding him as he let himself go for the first time in quite some time.

"Mmm baby," Kari moaned into his ear as he gritted his teeth against her neck, her fingers caressing his back and shoulders until he collapsed upon her.

They were silent for a few minutes as they caught their breaths and Seto rolled over to lay beside her. Kari, now feeling cold without his warmth, snuggled up to his side and he held her to him as she traced nameless shapes on his chest.

"I love you," she murmured with a smile, pressing a kiss to his side before laying her cheek against him again. Seto smiled and held her tighter.

"And I love you, Kari. However next time, it better be harder to forget me."

Kari laughed. "After this? How could I forget you at all?"


	10. Unexpected

Kari threw her arms out as soon as she stepped out into the sunlight. She breathed it in through a large deep breath and Mokuba smiled, taking her hand to tug her forwards. She opened her eyes and looked down at him before letting him lead the way. Since Yugi's friends had found out about Seto and her relationship, she and he had agreed to keep their distance for the rest of the tournament. The public didn't need to know and they especially didn't need to know about the whole Marik thing.

"Kari!" a female voice called after her and she spun around to see Mai Valentine running after her with a large smile on her pretty face.

"MAI!" Kari squealed and let go of Mokuba's hand to go to her, embracing her immediately. "Oh Mai, I missed you so much. I thought you were gone forever," she said into her arm. Mai tightened her grip on her best friend.

"Thanks to you, I'm not in the shadow realm. Yugi and Joey told me everything," Mai explained at Kari's curious tilt of her head.

"Everything?" Kari hesitantly asked while they pulled away from each other.

Mai caught onto her meaning and nodded. "Yes, but your secret's safe with me. However!" Mai threw her arm around her friend's shoulders and they began walking away from the blimp together. "You must tell me every single detail of how you obtained that cold hearted man's heart."

Kari busted into laughter, feeling extremely relieved that everything was all over and she could be truthful about her relationship with her friends. "Of course, after the tournament though. We have to be careful with what we say," she explained with a grin, before poking the taller woman in the side. "Plus you gotta tell me! You tell Joey how you feel?"

Mai pinked and looked away from the small blond's probing blue eyes. "I don't know what you are talking about Kari. And I'd appreciate it you'd drop it."

Kari was taken aback by her friend's snappy retort so she said nothing in return. Obviously it was a touchy subject.

Kari shivered as the wind picked up around the duelist ring set outside the duel tower. Now that Marik was gone, there was one more duelist she had to go against in order to move onto the finals. She hadn't seen him either since getting her memories back. Mokuba had been assigned to be around her the whole time, by Seto of course –since he wasn't able to be around her during the tournament—and the only person she'd seen was Mai. It was the like the group had avoided her for some reason and she sincerely hoped that the information they had uncovered about her and Seto would change their friendship. She didn't have anyone outside of the Kaiba's, besides Mai, and she had finally had some. The idea of Yugi not wanting to be friends with her anymore really hurt.

She chanced a glance in her boyfriend's direction and seemed to sense her looking at him because they caught eyes for a brief moment. Lips curling upwards at her, she felt the reassurance he was trying to give her from the sidelines. He looked away though and Kari blew out the breath she had been holding. Suddenly, the group of friends along with Mai walked up to the other side and gave her a grin. Relief flooded through her and she smiled back brightly.

Their eyes moved away from her though and she followed their gaze to see Yugi entering the dueling ring. Her heart leapt and she took a step forwards. "I thought you weren't going to show up," she admitted with a small smile.

Yugi wasn't smiling though and her heart constricted. "I would never miss a duel," he responded quietly and she had to strain her ears to hear him. He looked upset and she bit her bottom lip. Was it because of their kiss that they had shared had made him uncomfortable?

"I know," Kari said, trying to catch his eyes. "Yugi are you ok—"

"Go first," he interrupted and Kari stared at him with large eyes, wondering what was wrong. Kari sighed and figured she'd talk to him after the duel.

"Okay," she said as she slid her deck into her duel disk, Yugi doing the same to begin the duel.

The duel started and continued on like any other duel. However, Kari felt her heart wasn't in the duel and neither did Yugi. He was having a hard time looking at her because all he could see was her and Seto against the wall making out. Yami was in his ear, trying to convince him to let him take over, but Yugi wanted to do this on his own. He needed this. Or at least he thought he did.

Kari shuddered from the wind, wishing she had chosen to wear a sweater. The sun was bright but the wind was icy. It was incredibly contradicting and ironic to say the least. She wished she knew how to make Yugi feel better from whatever was upsetting him. Yugi never looked so upset and she didn't like it. It didn't fit his character. It wasn't right.

In the end, Yugi won and the cheers from the sidelines were deafening. Yugi wasn't phased by it. And Seto was smirking.

"Kari you did great!" Mai reassured her, seeing the deep frown on Kari's face as she stared at Yugi. The friends realized that it had probably offended her that they were cheering for Yugi so they piped up their cheers for Kari as well.

Kari took her cards and slid them into her box before taking her duel disk off of her arm. She handed it over to Mokuba and ran over to Yugi who was exiting the duel ring. "Yugi!" She called after him, brushing against Seto's hand that tried to grab her to pull her back. He wouldn't be able to do anything anyways, they weren't allowed to communicate.

Yugi turned just in time to see Kari stop in front of him, her hand reaching for his to make sure he didn't go anywhere. "Yugi please, are you mad at me?" she asked him.

Yugi glanced away with a painful expression. "No, I have no reason to be. I'm a little disappointed to be honest, but I knew you and Seto were together from the beginning. I knew that…you didn't have those type of feelings for me with Seto around," he explained in a small voice, feeling Yami's hand on his shoulder to comfort this difficult situation.

Kari recoiled, feeling guilty. She could remember everything. And she could remember how she had wanted to be with Yugi, how she had practically pounded on him at any given moment. She remembered when they had slept in the same bed and how she had woken up on his chest. He made her very happy but she knew that nothing could compare to how she felt for Seto. Even then, she could feel cobalt eyes on her back –assessing the situation—and she knew where her loyalty lay. But that didn't mean she didn't want to be friends with Yugi.

"I—I'm sorry Kari…I….never mind," Yugi said before turning away, breaking free of her grasp on him and mixing in with his friends to leave for the blimp. Kari took a step forwards to stop him, her eyes welling up at the realization that Yugi had feelings for her and she didn't return them the way that he wanted her to, but a small hand grabbed onto her wrist.

Glancing down at it, she saw it was Mokuba. "Come on Kari," he urged and she knew that Seto had told him to do this. "It's for the best," he tried to comfort her but Kari could feel her heart breaking. Did this mean they weren't friends anymore?

Numbly, she let Mokuba pull her back and she watched as Yugi and his friends disappeared onto the blimp for rest. The finals would be held in two hours in the duel tower between Joey, Seto, and Yugi. Battle City would be over soon. Two more duels left. She wouldn't have time to talk to him again. She didn't know how to react.

Seto watched on, trying really hard not to feel triumphant. Kari was his and she always would be. Yugi had to know that. He'd be fine. He was tough, or at least he acted that way most of the time. Battle City would be over soon, Seto would win, would have the god cards and all would be well. They all could go home and live their happy little lives. Things could go back to normal.

However the look on Kari's face as she walked away with Mokuba had him feeling guilty for feeling so happy. His insecurities about how she felt about Yugi were still present and so it was a relief to see them break off their feelings. However, he knew that Kari desperately wanted to be friends with him at least and despite the two boys' differences, after Battle City he had wanted to let Kari remain friends with Yugi. He trusted Kari to not make a mistake in their relationship enough to let her do that. So it hurt him to see Yugi betray their friendship because he had been rejected. Perhaps he should say something?

Yugi was alone in his bedroom, staring at the blank wall, trying not to picture the hurt face of Kari the last time he had seen her. He knew that he needed to get a grip and move on. But the feeling of Kari close to him, kissing him, the smell of her, and the way that he felt when they had woken up together wouldn't leave him. So it was making it difficult. The duel had been hard to do for an emotional reason and it made it worse to know that his decision on not being friends with her was the right one. It was, wasn't it?

He slid his hands down onto his face and took a deep breath, trying not to cry because he knew it wouldn't solve anything. If there was one thing that his Yami had taught him, it was to be strong in the most upsetting situations. However, this time, it was proving difficult.

"Yugi."

The low baritone voice had him straightening up and staring into red eyes. Yami was kneeling in front of him, looking within Yugi's one eyes, a frown etched upon his handsome features. He didn't need to ask him of anything, he knew how Yugi felt.

Yugi let out a shaky breath. "I made the right decision right? To not be friends with Kari?"

Yami eyed the boy in front of him. "I might not have been supportive before Yugi, but I feel like she is trustworthy and dependable. Her relationship with Kaiba is concerning, because you will always have to be on your toes with him. However, she is a good person and a good friend to you. You both care for each other very much. Perhaps being friends with her would be okay."

Yugi slumped. He had been hoping that Yami would tell him that he had been right to break it off with her. "But it's hard to see her with Seto, or to know they are together Yami. What is so wrong with me that Kari doesn't feel that way with me that she does with Seto? She was so happy without him."

Yami placed his hands on his partner's shoulders. "There is absolutely nothing wrong with Yugi. Don't ever let me hear you say that again. You are bright, beautiful, caring, and incredibly kind. You're smart and…handsome," Yami said with a little tinge of pink on his ears. He needed to be completely honest with his light. Yugi looked away with his own blush. "Yugi, you have seen how much Seto and Kari care for each other. Would you really want to disturb that?"

Yugi shook his head, a tear falling down a round cheek. Yami slid his thumb over it, wishing he could wipe it away. But Yugi understood the gesture. He sucked in a breath then sighed. "You're right Yami. As usual…" he said with a slight laugh mixed in with his miserable appearance.

Yami felt his heart speed up at the sound of his laughter and he fought with himself before letting himself say it. He'd been holding back long enough. "You know aibou, you may need to look a bit closer to what you have in front you that is more attainable than Kari Tsubaki…" his words were uncertain, as if he was trying them on for size. Yugi looked up at him with confusion and Yami felt his cheeks redden.

"What are you saying?" Yugi asked him but without another thought in his mind, Yami pulled the boy in for a kiss catching him off guard.

Eyes wide and open, Yugi watched as the spirit pressed his lips against his own, feeling the strange sensation of cool pressure. He felt a strange sliver of something he'd never felt before tingle down his spine with the kiss and as Yami pulled away ever so slowly –crimson meeting amethyst—Yugi felt frozen.

They were silent, Yugi's mouth parting slightly from shock and cheeks as red as Yami's eyes. Yami was panicking on the inside, hoping that he hadn't ruined anything between them. But on the outside, he was expressionless. He didn't want to make himself vulnerable to rejection. However his heart was definitely on his sleeve with this one.

"Please say something," Yami breathed, his blood running cold from fear.

Yugi couldn't speak and he lifted a hand to his lips, feeling the tingles that Yami's lips had caused. "You…you kissed me," he finally said and Yami tensed.

"I shouldn't have done that," Yami realized that this wasn't going anywhere. He'd ruined it. He stood up and walked away from his partner, the only one who had had his heart in his whole life.

Yugi jumped up and grabbed Yami's hand, making him stop. "Why did you kiss me, Yami?" he asked, his voice shook and his heart sped up with apprehension.

Yami swallowed and turned to look down at his light. "I thought it'd be obvious…" he muttered and looked away. "I'm sorry Yugi. I shouldn't have done that. You were already upset and I…I thought maybe you felt the same…somewhere deep down, but I realize I was mistaken."

Yugi's mind was spinning with this new information. Of course he and Yami were very close. He had never saw him as a brother or anything platonic. What had he thought of Yami? He was a very grand friend. He had felt attraction to Yami on more than one occasion….but he hadn't thought even thought of the possibility. He had been focusing on Kari since Battle City had begun and before that, he had been trying to save his Granpa. He hadn't had much time to think of Yami as anything other than his friend. He had been more than a friend hadn't he? Their tender moments they had together had definitely awoken something in Yugi's heart he couldn't exactly understand just yet. But he definitely didn't know if he could reciprocate Yami's feelings for him…

"I—Yami, please. Don't take this as a rejection," he said wobbly and his voice broke when Yami locked eyes with him. Yugi could see the hope in the red eyes. He had never seen his partner behave this nervous and vulnerable before. "I just haven't thought about….you like that. It's just a bit overwhelming."

Yami's hope died down and the disappointment along with the embarrassment returned. "Okay," Yami stated before disappearing into the puzzle. Yugi tried to feel for his partner, trying to call him back mentally, but Yami shut himself inside of his soul room and stuck the walls up around his mind to keep Yugi out. Yugi felt even worse, but with this new information, his feelings for Kari were slightly dimming. And he slowly slid down to his knees, his hands going to his head as it began to hurt with confusion.


	11. No God Card

Kari's blue eyes slid over to the window once more. Mokuba glanced up and she snapped them back to the romance novel she had been pretending to read for the past hour. The duel in the tower was going on and Seto had specifically told her to stay with Mokuba in the blimp. He didn't want ANYTHING to interfere and she did understand, given that she had just gotten over losing her memory of him and all. But god, she had to stay in the blimp with his lovely little brother reading a romance novel that she had read a million times instead of watching the duel with Joey, Yugi, and Seto? Lame.

For the past hour, while she had been "reading" she had time to figure out a plan of escaping. Mokuba, as a Kaiba himself, wasn't easily fooled. She should know. She lived with both of them and they were all very close. They knew each of them very well, including rebellious plans. And since Kari was a master escape artist, Mokuba knew to keep two eyes on her every other second.

Kari sighed and leaned back in the desk chair that Seto normally sported in his lab and vaguely smelled her boyfriend. Her heart tightened. She missed him. She hadn't really seen him since they had made up in the bedroom. They had landed soon after they had finished and she had been whisked away with Mokuba. Sigh.

"Uh Kari? Do you want a soda or something?" Mokuba asked, suddenly standing up and stretching his legs from the uncomfortable hour of babysitting his big brother's girlfriend.

Kari perked up and grinned. "Ooh yes please! A coke? Maybe?" she asked with hopeful eyes. Mokuba smiled and nodded.

"Okay…but," he faltered on his way to the door. "Stay here okay? Seto will be very mad if you leave and then I'll get into trouble-"

"Don't worry! I'm too tired anyways to leave," Kari said, trying not to sound too eager as she made a show of cuddling herself into a ball in the chair.

Mokuba smiled, blindly trusting her. "Okay then. Well, I'll be right back."

Kari's heart sped up and when Mokuba shut the door, she threw her book down onto the keyboard in front of her and rushed to the window. She opened it with ease and climbed through it, grabbing onto the hooks she knew were above each and every window on the blimp. This time, she was on the ground, and so she let herself drop through the air, landing on her feet which she then proceeded to take a roll, then swiftly stood up.

Kari took a breather and looked ahead, seeing the duel tower from afar. She grinned and ran towards it, absently hearing the small voice of Mokuba yelling out the window after her.

Seto smirked at Yugi who at the moment was taken over by Yami. "Looks like it will be you and me, what a surprise," he taunted to the shorter duelist and Yami narrowed his eyes even further.

"Isn't it," he stated in agreement before they both shot up to the very top. By that time, Kari had reached the duelist tower and had impatiently rode up the elevator to see all of her friends on the sidelines as Joey exited his dueling arc to reunite his friends.

"What happened?!" Kari asked, her eyes looking around frantically for Yugi and Seto.

"I lost," Joey muttered as Mai threw her arm around his shoulders, making him jump and look up at her wide eyes and a bright blush on his cheeks. Kari tried not to giggle at his reaction by placing her hand over her mouth.

"I'm sorry sweetie," she said when he gently pushed Mai away and looked dejected once more.

"S'fine. Wasn't meant to be, I suppose," he said with a sigh.

"That's not the only thing coming into clear," Mai muttered while looking away from them all. "I don't know about you all, but I'm going to go watch the final duel. I haven't come all this way to miss it."

As they walked up the stairs up to the final arena, Tea tugged on Kari's hand and pulled her back to walk alongside of her. "Where have you been?" she asked curiously and Kari blushed.

"I was kidnapped by my boyfriend's kid brother. Seto doesn't want me around the duels. He thinks it's dangerous," Kari said with a roll of her eyes and Tea smiled.

"He's just watching out for you. It's sweet," she said lowly and Kari couldn't help but smile at the taller girl.

"He is in his own way," Kari said with an admiring shrug before faltering in her steps. "Have you spoken to Yugi lately?"

Tea sighed and looked down at the stairs they were walking up. "Yes, but he doesn't want to talk about you. I've tried changing his mind about not wanting to be friends with you, but he changes the subject or says he has to go do something. He's not acting like himself."

Kari frowned thoughtfully. "Well, for what it's worth, let him know that I'm sorry that it didn't work out for us. I do like him and care for him as a friend. So I'm leaving it up to him to change his mind on his own time."

Tea gave her a smile. "I'll tell him."

As they reached the top, they were immediately thrown through a loop and heard cheers of crazed fans around them, revealing to them that they were now in a dueling arena. Kari's heart sped up as she saw Seto and Yugi down in the dueling area, beginning their duel. As if on habit, Kari leaned over the railing with a cheer.

Seto and Yami both turned to see her waving gleefully. Seto's eyes narrowed at her and she felt her heart jump to her throat. She hadn't thought before she acted and Tea scrambled to grab her back. Kari blushed deeply.

"KARI! There you are! Oh god I'm gonna be in so much trouble," Mokuba ran over to them and took Kari by the hand.

"All of this! For nothing!" Seto grabbed at his brown locks as he paced, Mokuba and Kari sitting on his bed watching him with matching frowns. "Ishizu told me it was going to happen this time! I was supposed to get the god cards! I almost lost one of the people that means everything to me and this is how fate repays me? By making me lose?!"

Kari blushed and looked down at her hands. She didn't think that he was realizing he was speaking all of this aloud. Mokuba looked up at Kari with fearful eyes and she nudged him. "Go tell the others that we'll be taking off soon for Domino," she whispered to him, "I'll talk with him."

Mokuba nodded frantically, happy to escape his brother's meltdown, ran from the room and closed the door behind him. Seto didn't even notice. He was still pacing through the bedroom. Kari took a deep breath before standing and confronting her boyfriend.

"Seto, its okay—"

"It's not! I don't even have Obelisk anymore! And I was humiliated in front of everyone! In my own tournament!" he seethed and Kari backed away from him, realizing that this was going to be harder than she thought. She had known what this meant to her boyfriend. They had had it all planned out. The only thing they hadn't taken into consideration was the fact that Yugi would somehow obtain a god card of his own…

"Love, there's only so much you could have done. You tried your best, like you always do," she said carefully, not saying anything pertaining to Yugi. Coming from her, Seto would just round on her for mentioning her –ex—friend.

"Not good enough!" Seto said, throwing himself down into his desk chair. Kari watched him for a moment before approaching him. She placed her hands on his shoulders and wasn't surprised for him not to respond. He was stressing. She gently began to rub at his shoulders, feeling him tense then gradually relax. A low hum vibrated through him and Kari smiled, happy that her strategy was working. Her boyfriend never stopped stressing. Thankfully, she knew she was a stress relief.

Seto enjoyed her touch and leaned his head back against her chest, his eyes closed. Kari released his shoulders and threw her fingers into his hair instead, massaging his scalp. He breathed deeply before opening his eyes to look up into her smiling face. He felt his heart flutter at beauty and the luck he did have at keeping her around –even though his fits. "You didn't stay with Mokuba," he stated and Kari gave him a sheepish smile.

"How could I miss something as important as your final duel in the tournament?" she teased as she leaned down to press a kiss to his forehead.

Seto smirked. "You should have stayed with Mokuba like I asked…something could have happened."

Kari rolled her eyes with exasperation. "But nothing did happen."

Seto slid his arms up her own and her expression faltered. "But something could have happened. I didn't make Mokuba look after you to keep you miserable."

Kari leaned away from him and he raised his head up as he spun the chair around to face her. His long legs stretched out in front of him and she hopped onto the bed. His fingers went to his lips as he stared at her. "What am I going to do about this Kari." He spoke it as a statement, not a question and Kari slid her hands over the creases of the blankets.

"Keep going. So you didn't get the god cards, it's fine. You did get one thing though," she said, her head nodding in one direction. Seto followed her gaze and saw the safe on top of his dresser. He had locked it because the thing inside kept giving him nightmares. Interesting nightmares. But still….nightmares.

"How did you know I put it in there?" he asked her curiously as he looked back over at her, feeling his pride in his girlfriend swell. Kari grinned brightly.

"We might not have been able to see each other in a couple days, but I still have been…around," she explained with a flirty wink.

Seto felt his lips curve upwards at her. Somehow, she had made him feel better without any effort. God he loved her for it. Yes, he was still very upset with Battle City's outcome, but knowing that he had something that could very well help him in the future was something that was easy to take into consideration. His outlook on dueling had been effected as well, thanks to the millennium items.

"What are you thinking about?" Kari asked, breaking his train of thought, with a tilt of her head.

Seto straightened in his seat. "That you look very tempting in my bed."

Kari didn't believe him but her face reddened and she slid her eyes down the torso of her boyfriend, loving the way the black turtle neck clung to his frame, outlining each and every muscle she knew was there underneath the soft fabric.

"What are you thinking about?" Seto retorted, giving her a knowing curve to his lips and Kari lay back on the bed to stare up at the ceiling. Seto watched with interest as her breasts rose with her breathing. His smirk grew and he stood up. Kari pretended to not notice her boyfriend advancing on her.

It took a second though, before she felt his long body along hers as he propped himself up over her. She looked up at him with a smile and he couldn't help but return it. She slid her hands up his shoulders to his hair to play with the edges. Seto shuddered and pressed himself against her. She let her fingers play on his neck.

"I'm thinking that I have the best boyfriend in the world, even without god cards."

Seto claimed her lips with his immediately, knowing exactly that the reason he was with her, was because she was his backbone. He had lived his whole life being Mokuba's backbone…and with her around, he had one as well. To be himself with. To know that she was always on his side no matter what came their way. Yugi was still a problem between them, but he knew that Kari would be his for as long as she'd have him.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading this. It will go along the lines of the semi-finals of Battle City. I will change some things to make this story, so I hope you don't mind. Also this is a finished story, so I will be posting the rest of the chapters up soon. And please forgive me for any AU. Thanks!


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